The Industrial Bank of Korea said Tuesday that it will help local small and medium-sized enterprises promote their products via online channels amid the prolonged market fallout of COVID-19.

The state-run lender, in partnership with the Seoul Business Agency, will hold an online promotion campaign for a selected list of quality SME products.

After receiving applications in May, the bank singled out 10 beneficiaries and created video advertisements that will be posted on IBK and SBA’s channels on social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Weibo. The YouTube and Weibo versions will respectively feature English and Chinese subtitles, in a move to reach out to potential overseas purchasers.

Also, a special sale called “On Seoul Market” will start Oct. 25 on the open market platform Gmarket, offering direct access to customers, according to IBK officials.

“By exposing these selected quality products on these market platforms, we will not only help the public advertisement but also contribute to actual sales,” said an official of IBK.

“We are currently working on expanding the range of beneficiaries.”

The project was proposed by one of IBK’s communities of practice, which sought new ideas to effectively buttress local SMEs.

All related costs were jointly covered by IBK and the SBA.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)