Park Young-sun Highlights Strength as 'Venture Minister'... First Public Welfare Move with Visit to Small and Medium Enterprises

Profit Sharing through Protocol Economy
"Regulatory Easing Promised for 'Startup-Small Business Profit Sharing Model'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Park Young-sun, former Minister of SMEs and Startups, who announced her candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election in April, chose small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as her first livelihood-focused activity after registering as a preliminary candidate for Seoul mayor. She emphasized her distinctiveness from other candidates by prominently highlighting her experience as the Minister of SMEs and Startups, while also presenting a model for profit-sharing systems to showcase her unique strengths.

Park Young-sun, former Minister of SMEs and Startups and a candidate in the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul mayoral by-election primary, visited Infinite Healthcare, a medical imaging information solution company located in Guro-gu, Seoul, on the 28th. She toured the office with CEO Kim Dong-wook. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the 28th, former Minister Park, along with Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Gun-young, visited Infinite Healthcare, a company developing AI-based remote medical reading systems located in the Guro Digital Industrial Complex. She praised it as a good example of the 'protocol economy,' saying, "Despite the COVID-19 crisis, they created new jobs and shared performance with employees, yet their sales increased."

Infinite Healthcare, which Park visited that day, employs 293 people in total, with 122 of them being young workers. Even amid the COVID-19 situation, they hired 36 new employees, making it a successful model that creates jobs and shares performance with staff despite difficulties. The company provides AI-based remote medical reading systems on a 'subscription' basis, sharing profits with employees as part of the business model.

Former Minister Park emphasized that this is a good example of the 'protocol economy,' where good jobs are created together with employees.

The protocol economy is a concept Park has emphasized since her time as minister, referring to an open economy where each economic actor freely creates rules (protocols), participates, and shares outcomes.

Park said, "When you engage in the subscription economy, sales stabilize, and users can use services affordably, benefiting both startups and small business owners. Similarly, in the protocol economy, company representatives and employees set rules and protocols together to share profits and grow."

She added, "Now that the subscription economy and protocol economy are new paradigms, startups and small business owners must share profits together to maintain competitiveness. In the post-COVID era, only leading companies with competitiveness will create quality work environments that balance work and family life."

Former Minister Park also promised regulatory relaxation for the 'startup-small business profit-sharing model.'

Park said, "Guro was an important inspiration for the '21-minute compact city.' We will reflect the establishment of key infrastructure in city administration through vertical utilization of land, such as vertical garden cities."