Six Unreasonable Regulations Identified from Startup to Closure
Labeling Required Only for Aquariums Visible to Customers
City: "Proposals Aimed at Giving Small Business Owners Breathing Room"
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has proposed an improvement plan to the central government, requesting that food hygiene education-currently required to be taken in person at an educational institution for restaurant startups-also be made available online. This measure aims to ease administrative burdens for small business owners. The city also requested improvements to the excessive quality inspection requirements that currently apply only to side dish shops.
On October 26, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it had selected six unreasonable regulations encountered during the process of opening and closing businesses, based on meetings and surveys with small business organizations, and submitted these to the Office for Government Policy Coordination on October 24. The city plans to continue identifying additional regulations by sector and target group through input from professional associations and citizens, and to submit ongoing proposals to the government.
This initiative was prompted by suggestions received through the “hotline” established in July to identify regulatory improvements. Organizations such as the Korea Federation of Restaurant Businesses and the Korea Food Industry Association proposed regulations they found unreasonable. According to a survey conducted by the city among these organizations and small business owners, 74% of respondents said that various regulations have a significant impact on the economic activities of small businesses, and 55% identified the complexity of licensing and reporting procedures as the most urgent issue for reform.
First, the city proposed allowing food hygiene education-currently required to be taken in person at an educational institution for restaurant business registration-to also be completed online. It also requested an amendment to the law so that individuals who have already received food hygiene education as hygiene managers at restaurants would not be required to retake the same course when starting a business under their own name.
Additionally, the city called for the improvement of unfair practices where stricter standards are applied to side dish shops than to restaurants (general restaurants), even though both are engaged in the same activity of making and selling side dishes. The city proposed unifying the business classification under “food service business,” so that side dish shops would be subject to the same standards as general restaurants. Currently, side dish shops are classified as “ready-to-eat sales and manufacturing business,” while restaurants are classified as “food service business.” As a result, side dish shops must indicate the country of origin for over 900 items and undergo regular quality inspections, whereas restaurants, even if they sell side dishes separately, are only required to indicate the country of origin for 29 items and are not subject to mandatory quality inspections.
Under the current “Origin Labeling Act,” the city also proposed limiting the requirement to indicate the origin of live seafood in all aquariums inside restaurants-including those in storage areas and kitchen interiors that are inaccessible to customers-to only those aquariums visible to customers. There have been ongoing complaints that requiring origin labeling even for aquariums located out of customers’ view imposes unnecessary administrative burdens, such as sign production and management, on small business owners.
Furthermore, the city suggested improving the process for importers and distributors, who have had to register the distribution history of imported agricultural and marine products through separate systems, so that both types of products can be reported at once through the “distribution history management system.”
In addition to these proposals, which were selected through close discussions and reviews with small business organizations, relevant departments, and expert groups, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to continue identifying and recommending the elimination of unnecessary regulations in various areas to further reduce the burdens and inconveniences faced by small businesses. Lee Changhyeon, Director of Regulatory Innovation Planning for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, “We will do our best to ensure that these proposals quickly lead to institutional improvements to give small business owners some breathing room.”
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