Starting Late This Year, 'Gongyu Kitchen' Introduced to Ease Facility Burdens for Small Business Owners

Joo-Bong Park, SME Ombudsman, Holds On-Site Meeting with In Tae-Yeon, Secretary for Self-Employed, and Small Business Owners in Daegu and Gyeongbuk
Proposal to Integrate Operation of 'Small Enterprise (Small Business) Certificate' and 'Small Business Certificate'

Jubong Park, Deputy Minister-level Small and Medium Business Ombudsman, is speaking at a meeting.
[Photo by Small and Medium Business Ombudsman]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Starting at the end of this year, a 'shared kitchen' system will be introduced, allowing two or more business operators to use a single kitchen together. This is expected to reduce the facility burden on small business owners by utilizing joint manufacturing and processing facilities.

Park Ju-bong, Small and Medium Business Ombudsman (vice-ministerial level), along with In Tae-yeon, Secretary for Self-Employment at the Presidential Secretariat, visited Daegu Metropolitan City on the 15th to hold a 'Small Business On-Site Meeting' to listen to the regulations and difficulties faced by small business owners in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions. The meeting was organized to reflect field opinions in policies through communication with small business owners struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the meeting, the Ombudsman and Secretary In visited Chilseong Market in Buk-gu, Daegu in the morning, where they checked the market status with Hong Ui-rak, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Daegu, and Kim Young-gi, Chairman of the Chilseong Market Merchants Association. They comforted merchants suffering from COVID-19 by purchasing fruits, dried seafood, and other items directly.

In the afternoon, they moved to Daegu Technopark and held the 'Small Business On-Site Meeting' with 11 representatives of small business owners and cooperative organizations from the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions. Jo Bong-hwan, President of the Small Enterprise and Market Service, and Kim Young-oh, Chairman of the Daegu Branch of the National Merchants Federation, also attended, leading to active discussions.

Yoo Sun-mi, Market Manager of the Goryeong Daegaya Market Merchants Association, appealed, "To make and sell rice cakes, side dishes, etc., in traditional markets, one must register for the immediate sales manufacturing and processing business. However, traditional markets have limited space, making it difficult to prepare separate workspaces or facilities for each store."

In response, Ombudsman Park said, "The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is planning to introduce a shared kitchen system by the end of this year, allowing two or more business operators to use one kitchen together. They are preparing licensing procedures, facility standards, hygiene education, and compliance requirements for smooth operation." He added, "Utilizing joint manufacturing and processing facilities is expected to reduce the facility burden."

Baek Chang-hoon, CEO of the Korea Confectionery Food Cooperative, stated, "Currently, the 'Small Enterprise (Small Business) Certificate' required for public procurement and policy fund support is issued by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, while the 'Small Business Certificate' for the good landlord tax credit is issued by the Small Enterprise and Market Service. Both certificates are to verify the qualification of small business owners, but the issuance is split between two agencies, causing confusion for businesses in obtaining certificates. There is a need to integrate the issuance of small business certificates into one place."

Ombudsman Park responded, "Following prior consultations with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, we received a reply that they are willing to actively consider changing the issuing agency for the small business certificate for tax credits upon request from the relevant agency." He added, "We will work with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to minimize inconvenience."

Additionally, participants raised various field difficulties such as △allowing online sales of raw meat dishes △extending the self-quality inspection cycle for immediate sales manufacturing and processing foods (from 6 months to 1 year) △realistic standards for production facilities to confirm direct production.

Secretary In said, "As the end of COVID-19 approaches, please hold on a little longer with hope," and added, "The government will also prepare support measures that can provide practical help to small business owners and self-employed individuals."

Meanwhile, the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman plans to hold 'Small Business On-Site Meetings' every month at major hub cities such as Seoul, Gyeonggi, Daejeon, and Busan until the end of the year, starting with the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions.