"Focus on Livelihood"...Reducing Mandatory Legal Education Burden for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed

Online Education Substitutes for Reopening in the Same Industry
Multi-use Facility Training Reduced from 6 Hours to 3 Hours

Myeongdong Street, Jung-gu, Seoul [Image source=Yonhap News]

The government has decided to significantly ease the mandatory legal education burden on small business owners and self-employed individuals. This is to reduce unnecessary training so they can focus more on their livelihoods.

The Regulatory Reform Committee under the President announced on the 29th that it reviewed and approved an improvement plan containing these measures at its meeting on the 26th. Earlier, the committee, led by Lee Jung-won, the 2nd Deputy Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, had been preparing the 'Legal Mandatory Education Improvement Plan' together with relevant ministries based on voices heard at the food hygiene education sites last November.

The government plans to create an environment where small business owners and self-employed individuals can concentrate on their work by alleviating excessive education burdens. The food hygiene education, which about one million self-employed people must complete annually, will replace the new education (6 hours of in-person training) with regular education (3 hours, available online) for those who reopen a business in the same industry after closing. Unlike other industries, entertainment bars required both operators and employees to receive education, but this requirement will be abolished going forward.

Additionally, if a person who has completed regular food hygiene education operates a similar business within the same city or province, the education will be recognized for that business location as well. The maintenance education hours for indoor air quality management, which must be completed by owners and managers of multi-use facilities such as jjimjilbangs, PC bangs, and indoor playgrounds?totaling about 24,000 facilities?will also be reduced from 6 hours to 3 hours.

However, essential education will be enhanced and provided thoroughly. Tax and labor-related educational content necessary for startup and business operations will be specialized by industry, and fire safety education for multi-use establishments such as restaurants, karaoke rooms, and academies will be reorganized from theory-centered to practice-centered. A customized integrated platform will also be established to allow users to easily find such education and support programs at a glance.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination plans to continuously monitor to ensure that education regulations are not strengthened. For laws and regulations that newly establish or strengthen education obligations, it will mandate setting a review deadline according to the Administrative Regulation Basic Act to periodically check whether the education burden is excessive. In particular, it will recommend that each ministry obligatorily set incentive provisions to exempt or ease education obligations for outstanding education completers.

Kim Jong-seok, chairman of the Regulatory Reform Committee, said, "To enhance economic vitality while achieving the purpose of mandatory education, effective education must be conducted in an environment where small business owners and self-employed individuals can focus on their livelihoods," adding, "We will do our best for regulatory innovation that the public and businesses can feel."