30th Day in Office: Press Conference Highlights
Simplification of Support Program Documents
Plans for Internal Administrative Innovation
SungSook Han, Minister of SMEs and Startups, announced plans to establish an 'Integrated Platform for SMEs' during a press conference marking her 30th day in office.
On August 28, at a press conference held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, to mark her 30th day in office, Minister Han made this statement.
Since taking office, Minister Han has conducted a total of 30 policy field tours, 10 each in the areas of SMEs, ventures & startups, and small business owners. During this process, she met with more than 120 experts and business leaders. Minister Han said, "There are powerful words that can only be understood when you hear the real stories from the field," and added, "Through this process of communicating with the field, I have felt a renewed and heavy sense of responsibility to tighten my shoelaces for the sake of SMEs and small business owners."
Drawing on her experience as a leading private sector digital innovation expert, she particularly emphasized a data-driven approach to innovation. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to significantly simplify application documents for SME support programs and strengthen administrative information linkage, enabling automatic submission of documents issued by public institutions. In addition, the ministry plans to use AI and big data-based technology evaluation models for reviews and to build an integrated platform for SMEs so that all support program announcements can be accessed in one place.
Minister Han explained, "When I opened the search page myself, I saw that there are more than 160 support programs, making it difficult to find what you need," and added, "We are also considering ways to share the reasons with applicants when they are not selected for support programs."
She also presented measures for internal administrative innovation. The ministry will digitize various data, including company information and internal reports, to build an integrated database, and combine this with generative AI to automate repetitive tasks and improve administrative efficiency. The ministry will manage policy implementation performance and use this for policy feedback. Since the policy needs of SMEs, startups, small business owners, and the general public differ by group, customized policy information will also be provided.
The minister also introduced a new government economic growth strategy for the SME and venture sector. First, the ministry will focus on supporting seven key physical AI areas and fifteen super-innovation economic projects, aiming to achieve 40 trillion won in venture investment through the Korea Fund of Funds and retirement pensions. In addition, the ministry will expand the distribution of smart factories centered on manufacturing and foster promising industries such as K-beauty to boost exports.
Furthermore, efforts will be made to ease the financial burden on small business owners and strengthen the social safety net by raising the limit of the Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid Fund. Through the promotion of Commercial District Renaissance 2.0, the ministry will cultivate customized neighborhood commercial districts according to the size and type of each district. To ensure the effectiveness of the supply price indexation system, the scope of application will be expanded, and a Korean-style evidence disclosure system will be introduced to create a mutually beneficial business environment.
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