EN
Alongside the accepted wisdom that the Korean economic miracle has been created by the chaebuls, the careful analysis of the evolution of small and medium firms in Korea demonstrates the important role of smaller businesses all the way through the course of dynamic growth. The size structure of the Korean economy has been strictly controlled by the state and the development of SME have not occurred 'by chance'. SME functions have been evolving through the last half a century according to the economic targets set by national development strategies. As a result of intensive policy intervention the complex organism made out of numerous economic units of different size and profile has been created and every element of the system has its own responsibility to carry out.