139 On-Site Visits This Year, Covered 20,975 km, Met 1,225 People

257 Regulatory Issues Identified and 60 Improved at SME Ombudsman Meeting
Ombudsman Park Joobong: "I Will Go Anywhere Anytime to Resolve Regulations for SMEs and Small Business Owners"

Park Ju-bong, Small and Medium Business Ombudsman (vice ministerial level, right), speaking at the Incheon Small Business Meeting on the 30th of last month. [Photo by Small and Medium Business Ombudsman]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Park Ju-bong, the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman (vice ministerial level), visited the field 139 times this year. Over the course of a year, the distance Park traveled for on-site communication reached approximately 20,975 km, which is equivalent to about 26 round trips between Seoul and Busan (approximately 400 km) by KTX. He also met with over 1,225 people to listen to their opinions.

Park wrapped up this year’s on-site meetings with a small business meeting in Incheon on the 30th of last month. True to his nickname as the "Field-type Ombudsman," he traveled across the country almost 2 to 3 times a week from Seoul to Jeju, holding regional meetings, export and industry sector meetings, and company visits. He also made efforts for regulatory innovation by directly inviting ministers from the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Ministry of Environment to hold discussion forums.

This year, 257 cases of regulations and difficulties were identified through field activities, of which 60 cases were improved (including partial improvements), achieving an acceptance rate of 23.3%.

Representative cases of regulations discovered and improved through field activities include △allowing the employment of foreign workers (H-2) specifically for parcel loading and unloading tasks, and △enabling companies with improved debt ratios to apply for subsidies. To alleviate the manpower shortage in the logistics industry caused by the surge in non-face-to-face shopping, employment of foreign workers (H-2) was permitted specifically for parcel loading and unloading tasks, and the stay period for employment permit system foreign workers (E-9, H-2) whose domestic stay and employment period expire at the end of this year was extended by one year.

Additionally, to support new facility investments, it was agreed with relevant ministries that companies with improved debt ratios through self-help efforts could apply for local investment promotion subsidies through accounting audits. Other improvements included △expanding eligibility for the manufacturing SME innovation voucher program and △temporarily applying special exceptions for government procurement negotiated contracts.

Ombudsman Park said, "Although the official meetings and field visits planned for this year have concluded, please call on me wherever the ombudsman is needed," adding, "For the relief of regulations on our small and medium enterprises and small business owners, I will run to help anytime, regardless of the size or duration of the issue."

Meanwhile, the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman is a government agency established under Article 22 of the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises to improve unreasonable regulations and difficulties faced by small, medium, and venture businesses and small business owners. Anyone can easily report regulatory difficulties through its website.