SME Minister Lee So-young tours Kolmar Korea plant to boost small K-beauty exporters

Lee So-young, head of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, inspected Kolmar Korea’s Sejong plant on Friday, speaking with the firm’s leadership and government representatives about ways to enhance the global competitiveness of independent Korean beauty brands. Kolmar, the nation’s pioneering cosmetics original design manufacturer, supplies development, manufacturing, and quality-control services to smaller firms, enabling them to enter foreign markets without owning production facilities.

The visit coincides with a surge in K-beauty demand, as South Korea’s cosmetics exports reached roughly $7.34 billion in the first half of 2026, with skincare alone making up $5.48 billion. Small and medium-sized enterprises contributed $5.07 billion, a 30.7 % rise from the previous year, making cosmetics the top SME export sector. Kolmar’s Sejong site, capable of producing 890 million units annually, focuses on skincare and sunscreen, and plans to expand capacity after reshoring operations from a closed Beijing factory. CEO Choi Hyun-kyu pledged continued assistance for small brands to strengthen their overseas market position.