[Column] Tug of War Over New Album Jurisdiction in These Times

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] As the Ministry in charge of the Credit Guarantee Fund, a government policy finance support institution for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), is disputed between the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, controversy is growing as even the National Assembly has presented conflicting bills between the ruling and opposition parties.

On the 23rd, Seong Il-jong, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, introduced a revision bill of the "Credit Guarantee Fund Act" to unify the supervision of the Credit Guarantee Fund's operations and the organization of its contributions under the Financial Services Commission. Currently, the Financial Services Commission manages and supervises the Fund's operations, while the Ministry of SMEs and Startups handles budget organization, which limits the ability to respond quickly and flexibly to various policy finance demands. The bill proposes this change due to difficulties in securing timeliness and efficiency in policy execution caused by siloed policy operations between the two agencies.

Conversely, in September, Kim Kyung-man, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee from the Democratic Party, introduced a bill to transfer the Credit Guarantee Fund to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, aiming to unify the currently divided policy guarantee institution management system. The main reason is that 99% of the Fund's guarantee recipients are SMEs, so specialization in SME policy finance support and prevention of overlapping support would enable efficient fund supply.

Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, has consistently expressed this intention since taking office. At a national audit held a month after the bill was introduced, Minister Park expressed support for transferring the Fund to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stating it reflects "the needs of the times." The Financial Services Commission has been reserved in its comments but clearly shows discomfort.

The problem is the timing. SMEs and small business owners, hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, are facing the risk of closure due to decreased sales. According to the Monthly Court Statistics Report, the number of corporate bankruptcy filings from January to October this year reached 879 cases, the highest since statistics began in 2013.

In this situation, it is difficult to be confident that the tug-of-war over which ministry should oversee the Credit Guarantee Fund will help COVID-19 financial support. Rather, there is greater concern that it could disrupt the organic cooperative relationship centered on the Financial Services Commission as the control tower. Both bills claim to aim for efficient financial support for SMEs, but it must be kept in mind that, contrary to their intent, they could be seen as a turf battle between ruling and opposition parties or between standing committees. Outside the National Assembly, cries are heard that life has become harder than during the IMF and financial crisis due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.