[Desk Column] What Is the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman?

Kim Min-jin, Head of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

The Small and Medium Business Ombudsman contacted Agency A (a government office) and attempted to speak with the head of the agency. The caller identified themselves as the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman. The ombudsman staff said to the Agency A employee who answered the phone, "The Ombudsman would like to speak with the head of Agency A. There is a matter to discuss," and asked to be connected.

The response from the Agency A employee came back: "Our agency head has no reason to speak with someone like the Ombudsman."

The ombudsman staff was momentarily speechless. The phrase "no reason to speak" implied something like "no outsiders allowed, no solicitors."

The predecessor of the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman was the Presidential Commission on Small and Medium Enterprises. When the Kim Dae-jung administration began, the Government Organization Act was amended in February 1998, and in April of the same year, the Special Commission on Small and Medium Enterprises was launched. Its purpose was to actively identify and resolve field difficulties faced by SMEs and to enable inter-ministerial policy coordination such as regulatory relief.

The first chairman was Park Sang-gyu, former vice chairman of the New Politics National Party and former chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs. Politicians and former ministers or vice ministers such as Ahn Byung-woo, Cho Han-cheon, Kim Deok-bae, Han Jun-ho, Choi Hong-geon, Yeom Hong-cheol, and Noh Jun-hyung held this position. The commission, which operated for 10 years, disappeared in early 2008 with the inauguration of the Lee Myung-bak administration.

The following July, the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman was established with a significantly reduced organization. The Small and Medium Business Ombudsman is appointed by the Prime Minister upon recommendation by the Minister of SMEs and Startups and review by the Regulatory Reform Committee. The status of the organization, which was ministerial level during the commission era, was lowered to vice ministerial level.

Although its status and scale decreased, its role expanded. The purpose is to identify and improve unreasonable regulations related to small and medium enterprises and mid-sized companies and to resolve difficulties. The scope was broadened to include small business owners. It also provides relief for public officials who suffer damages while working enthusiastically through recommendations for exemption from active administration, but even public officials are often unaware of this.

The head of Agency A who refused the call from the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman is at the level of a senior secretary (Grade 4). This is not to discuss the hierarchical structure of ranks where a vice minister-level official was refused a call by a Grade 4 official. Agency A probably did not know what the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman was. It would have been difficult to know whether it was an agency name or a job title.

A small business owner I recently met argued that the name of the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman should be changed. There have been longstanding criticisms that the name is ambiguous when heard. It is not only difficult to know if it is a government agency, but also unclear at first whether it refers to the agency name or a person (man) working at the agency. It is neither a Korean word nor a commonly used English word. It is hard to immediately understand what kind of work the organization does. I looked it up in the dictionary. The normative spelling of Ombudsman, 'Ombudsman,' is Swedish for 'representative, guardian, proxy.' It was first introduced by the Swedish parliament in 1809.

I do not know exactly why the title 'civil complaint investigator,' introduced by the Swedish parliament, came to be used as a government agency name here. Seoul has the Citizens' Audit Ombudsman Committee, and there are also part-time appointed citizen participation ombudsmen. Each local government has its own ombudsman. There are ombudsmen at city halls and district offices. Ulsan City operates an ombudsman for handling sexual harassment and sexual violence grievances.

With so many ombudsmen existing, it is unreasonable to expect Agency A to know properly. Some people think it is a civic organization, so the small business owner's suggestion is "Change the name." One might say, "What's wrong with the name? As long as the work is done well, that's enough." Government agencies dealing with civil complaints would be ideal if their names are easy to understand, they have appropriate authority, and they perform well.