Most of South Korea's public enterprises and organizations are working closely with smaller private companies, while seven public firms still require improvement in their support for the joint development of smaller firms, a government report showed Thursday.

A joint review by government officials and private experts found that 10 public firms, including the Korea Gas Safety Corp.

and the Korea Industrial Complex Corp., are doing an excellent job in working to help the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The review has been conducted every year since 2007 under the law on joint development and cooperation for SMEs with its outcome reflected in a separate annual review of state-run companies on their management and performance that may lead to an increase or cut in incentives for their employees.

The review on support for joint development found that 42 other public firms are still doing a good job to support the joint development of smaller firms.

They include the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the Korea Electric Power Corp. and the Incheon International Airport Corp.

The review, however, found seven others still need to boost their support and cooperation for smaller firms. They include Korea Railroad, the Korea Tourism Organization, the state-run housing developer LH Corp., and the Korea Radioactive Waste Agency. (Yonhap)