[2020 National Audit] Park Young-sun on 'Ministry of SMEs and Startups Relocation to Sejong': "New Wine in a New Bottle"

Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups attended the comprehensive audit of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups at the Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee held at the National Assembly on the 26th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, emphasized the justification for the 'relocation of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) to Sejong City,' saying, "There is an old saying that new wine should be put into new wineskins."

Minister Park made this remark on the 26th during the comprehensive audit of the MSS held by the Industry, Trade, and SMEs Committee at the National Assembly, in response to a related inquiry by Hwang Unha, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

In response to Hwang's concern that "the relocation of the MSS to Sejong City could accelerate the stagnation of Daejeon," Minister Park replied, "Wouldn't it be more appropriate from a policy perspective for Daejeon to achieve greater development by making a fresh start as an innovation city?"

The MSS views the relocation to Sejong City as necessary to strengthen communication and cooperation with related ministries, serving as a control tower for policies concerning small and medium-sized enterprises, venture companies, and small business owners. On the 16th, it submitted a letter of intent for the relocation of its headquarters organization to Sejong to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Daejeon City opposes the MSS's move to Sejong. On the 20th of this month, Mayor Heo Tae-jung of Daejeon issued a statement strongly opposing the government's plan to relocate the MSS to Sejong.