Ministry of SMEs and Startups: "Protecting Honest Small Business Owners, Implementing Without Delay"

Passage of Five Legislative Amendments Including the "Public Health Control Act" at the National Assembly Plenary Session

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 4th that the tasks to protect honest small business owners, announced at the public discussion forum on livelihood last February, are being carried out smoothly. The amendment bills to five related laws, including the Public Health Control Act, passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 26th of last month.

This task originated from a story of a small business owner who was unfairly subjected to a business suspension order related to verifying the age of minors during the public discussion forum on livelihood. Relevant ministries are taking measures to prevent such cases from occurring again. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety sent a cooperation letter to local governments instructing them to thoroughly investigate cases where minors were provided with alcoholic beverages and to carefully decide on administrative sanctions and prosecutions.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, along with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Government Legislation, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, has been operating a consultative body since February to amend laws, including similar administrative sanctions in areas such as tobacco and lodging beyond alcohol provision. At the 'Honest Small Business Owner Protection Related Agencies Council,' it was decided that if it is objectively proven that the business operator checked the ID of the minor, administrative sanctions can be exempted even before investigation or judgment by investigative or judicial authorities.

Subsequently, led by the Ministry of Government Legislation, relevant ministries collaborated to amend six subordinate laws, including the Enforcement Decree of the Food Sanitation Act, to exempt administrative sanctions against business operators and ease business suspension periods if it is confirmed by CCTV or other means that the minor intentionally induced the legal violation. To establish grounds for requiring business operators to request ID during age verification and to provide grounds for exemption of business operators, relevant ministries closely cooperated with the National Assembly from the drafting stage, and five related law amendment bills, including the Public Health Control Act, were swiftly processed as livelihood bills without opposition from either party three months after their proposal on the 26th of last month.

In addition to institutional improvements related to protecting honest small business owners, policy measures for small business owners are also being prepared. Centered on the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the 'Comprehensive Measures for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed' was announced last July to provide tailored support, and follow-up measures such as expanding the scope of electricity bill support and improving the Onnuri Gift Certificate system are also being implemented.

Lee Dae-geon, Director of Small Business Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “We will continue to cooperate with relevant ministries and local governments to firmly establish the improved system in the field for the rights of 7.65 million small business owners.”