[2023 National Audit] Lee Young "Active Support for Small Business Owners and Ventures... Also Breaking Killer Regulations"

Entering the Ministry of SMEs and Startups National Audit on the 12th

Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups.

Lee Young, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated at the National Assembly’s Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee’s audit on the 12th that policies will be implemented to support the growth of small business owners and enhance the global competitiveness of ventures and startups. He also pledged to create an environment for sustainable growth by fostering innovation engines in small and medium enterprises and eliminating killer regulations.

The National Assembly’s Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee began the audit of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups at 10 a.m. that day. Before the audit started, Minister Lee explained the government’s achievements so far and the future policy direction in his opening remarks.

As a major achievement, Minister Lee highlighted the performance of the 'Donghaeng Festival,' the largest discount event for small and medium enterprises. The 'Spring Light Donghaeng Festival' held in May recorded sales of 1.2 trillion won, and the 'Golden Field Donghaeng Festival' held last month exceeded the sales target of 1.2 trillion won as of the 24th of last month. The final Donghaeng Festival of the year will be held in December, and the goal is to achieve total sales of 3 trillion won this year including this event.

He also introduced policies introduced to revitalize investment in the venture and startup sectors, such as the introduction of the multiple voting rights system scheduled for implementation in November and the 'Private Venture Fund of Funds' system set to be implemented on the 19th. Minister Lee explained, "In April, we prepared and have been implementing a funding support plan worth 10.5 trillion won for ventures and startups," adding, "We supported their participation in major overseas startup events such as the U.S. Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Saudi BIBAN, and France Vivatech to help them secure new market entry opportunities."

Minister Lee said he will help the recovery and growth of small business owners and expand safety nets. He stated, "Through the 'Snowflake Donghaeng Festival' in December, we plan to continue the nationwide win-win consumption campaign and revitalize local commercial districts," and added, "We will nurture entrepreneurial small business owners with tailored support according to growth stages and build a dense safety net for small business owners by introducing low-interest refinancing loans and strengthening support for the Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid."

He also revealed a blueprint for support measures for ventures and startups. Minister Lee emphasized, "We will steadily promote 'ComeUp 2023' scheduled for November and expand startups’ overseas expansion through the establishment of 'SpaceK,' a global startup hub, and the reform of the startup visa system," adding, "We will also promote the inflow of overseas talent into the domestic startup ecosystem."

Regarding small and medium enterprise policies, he promised to fully implement the 'Manufacturing Innovation Strategy' prepared to leap into a digital manufacturing powerhouse and strengthen support for regional SMEs through regional specialization projects. Minister Lee said, "We plan to promote export market diversification projects and expand policy fund support next year to ease financial difficulties for companies," and added, "We will actively support restructuring and business transformation for companies facing crises."

Regarding the delivery payment linkage system implemented on the 4th, he plans to encourage participation from partner companies until the end of the year for early stabilization. Policies for regulatory innovation, which have been obstacles to SME growth, will also be introduced one after another. Minister Lee stated, "We will improve killer regulations jointly with related ministries at the government-wide level," and added, "We will designate the first ‘Global Innovation Zone’ by the end of this year, which will fully implement negative regulatory exceptions to help companies grow without regulatory obstacles."