[Regulatory Republic] New Industry Regulations Stuck in 'Analog'... "Global Competitiveness Shrinking"

<1>Technology Development, Government Hindering Global Competition
Delivery Robots Must Be Accompanied by Humans When Operating Outdoors
IT Industry: "Regulatory Compliance Causes Technology Gap with Overseas"
SME Ombudsman: "Officials Still at Analog Level"

Delivery robot startup Newbility operates a delivery robot service at the 7-Eleven Seocho I-Park store in Seocho-gu, Seoul. According to domestic regulations, a person must accompany delivery robots operating outdoors for safety reasons. The photo shows Newbility's delivery robot 'Newbee' and an on-site staff member. Photo by Joonhyung Lee

[Asia Economy Reporters Haeyoung Kwon, Bokyung Kim, Aeri Boo, Junhyung Lee] #Seven Eleven Seocho I-Park Store located in Seocho-gu, Seoul. This store started the delivery robot service at the end of last year, the first in the convenience store industry. A small space of about 6.6㎡ (approximately 2 pyeong) next to the store serves as a temporary office for the delivery robot startup Newbility employees. Newbility is the company operating the delivery robot service in collaboration with Seven Eleven. Four Newbility employees work shifts every day from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. in this small space, which is poorly heated and exposed to drafts.

They stay at the store because they have to follow the robots. A person must accompany the delivery robot when it operates outdoors. This regulation ultimately results in stagnation of domestic delivery robot innovation.

In the autonomous vehicle industry, voices calling for regulatory reform to promote technology development and market expansion have been raised for a long time. The government has recently announced the ‘Autonomous Driving Regulatory Innovation Roadmap 2.0’ and is revising laws and systems, but it still lags behind the market speed. There are concerns that laws such as the government-promoted ‘Mobility Activation Act’ may ultimately become regulatory laws.

The entire IT industry is worried about the decline in global competitiveness due to government regulations. The ‘Online Platform Fairness Act (Onple Act)’ is a representative example. The industry claims, "The Fair Trade Commission is trying to confine platform companies within the institutional framework by enacting the Onple Act without considering the characteristics of the industry." There is also a great fear that the technological gap with overseas companies, which widened during the time lost coping with excessive regulations, may never be caught up.

Jubong Park, Small and Medium Business Ombudsman. / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

These days, market and technological innovations are rapidly occurring to the extent that it is called the ‘Second Industrial Revolution,’ but laws and systems fail to reflect even the ‘present,’ let alone the future. Regarding this, Juboong Park, Small and Medium Business Ombudsman (vice minister level), said, "We have already entered the digital age, but the regulatory system and the speed or methods of public officials’ work still remain at an analog level," adding, "Even if blocked by laws or enforcement ordinances, there are many parts that can be sufficiently handled through proactive administration."

Hwanik Yoo, Director of Corporate Policy at the Federation of Korean Industries, said, "Even if companies try to foster new industries, the environment makes it difficult for new industries to emerge due to concerns about legal violations," and added, "In the trend of industrial convergence breaking down barriers between industries, we should also switch to negative regulation like overseas, where regulations are first relaxed and intervention occurs only if problems arise afterward."