Park Joobong "Poor Cooperation Among Ministries Related to Mountains and Farming"... SME Ombudsman Meeting

Six Ministries Including Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Ministry of Land Cooperate Well
Ombudsman Organization Needs Staff Reinforcement
Plan to Increase Face-to-Face Consultations This Year

Park Ju-bong, Small and Medium Business Ombudsman, is speaking about improving unreasonable regulations at a New Year's press conference held on the 10th at a restaurant located in Yeouido, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] "It seems that government ministries related to agriculture and mountains do not cooperate well."

On the 10th, Park Joobong, the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman, said this at a New Year's press briefing held at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, adding, "We discover problems and work hard to request corrections by sending official letters and holding face-to-face consultations, but it hurts my heart when ministries respond insincerely."

Ombudsman Park emphasized the need for active cooperation from each ministry. He said, "The fact is that most ministries have not cooperated actively so far. The ministries that cooperate well are the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of SMEs and Startups. They respond sincerely to the official letters we send and handle matters with proactive administration." He also claimed that local governments cooperate well.

Ombudsman Park is also considering creating materials to comparatively evaluate the cooperation status of each ministry. He said, "I will consider whether to create materials and distribute them through press briefings."

Park said that the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman is the government agency with the least power. However, he emphasized the role and importance of the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman. He said, "Our agency is, in a way, the last stronghold as a government agency to handle difficulties faced by small and medium enterprises and mid-sized companies. If we fail, entrepreneurs have nowhere to complain, so we must strive to resolve issues."

He also stressed the need to increase organizational personnel. Ombudsman Park said, "There are shortcomings even when trying to hold face-to-face consultations due to a lack of personnel," adding, "If personnel are strengthened, more face-to-face consultations can be held, and acceptance rates will increase, which I think will significantly improve conditions for small and medium enterprises."

The Small and Medium Business Ombudsman has about 40 personnel, including Ombudsman Park. It is composed of officials from various ministries and local governments. Park said, "When comparing official letter consultations and face-to-face consultations, there is about a 20% difference in effectiveness. If about 10% of problems improve through official letters, face-to-face consultations yield about 30% effectiveness. This year, we plan to increase face-to-face consultations."

He continued, "There are no officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare or the Fair Trade Commission assigned to the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman," and requested the dispatch of officials, saying, "Even when we try to consult with ministries, the consultation itself takes a lot of time and is difficult."

The Small and Medium Business Ombudsman is appointed by the Prime Minister upon the recommendation of the Minister of SMEs and Startups and review by the Regulatory Reform Committee, based on Article 22 of the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises. It holds a vice-ministerial level and is an independent institution that systematically and continuously addresses unreasonable regulations and difficulties faced by small and medium enterprises and mid-sized companies.

Ombudsman Park, a businessperson (Chairman of KC), took office as the 4th Ombudsman in February 2018. He said, "Thanks to the cooperation of various ministries, I evaluate that we achieved remarkable results last year."

He also explained, "Among the achievements last year, from this year, advertising by other companies on private cars has been allowed. Gimpo Airport has a private airplane landing and takeoff area. There was inconvenience where luggage had to be unloaded from aircraft arriving from overseas into our domestic terminal and then reloaded onto aircraft again. We coordinated with the Customs Service to improve this so that it can proceed as a one-stop process without such inconvenience."

This year, he is focusing on the procurement market. Ombudsman Park said, "What we want to look into more deeply this year is the procurement market. It is a very large market for small and medium enterprises, but I heard at a briefing that there are parts that do not realistically fit," and revealed plans to improve regulations.

He said, "For example, if a company supplies desks, we will look into and change parts that have not been corrected, such as material costs or labor costs remaining the same as 15, 10, or 5 years ago."

He is also interested in the issue of overdue interest in finance. Ombudsman Park said, "There are all kinds of overdue interest issues in transactions with small business owners and small and medium enterprises. We will negotiate to correct excessively high parts. Although the joint guarantee system has been abolished, cases where the old system still applies exist. People who provided joint guarantees in the past find it very difficult when starting a business now. We will actively work with the Financial Services Commission to see if retroactive application is possible and resolve this through proactive administration."

As a businessperson, Ombudsman Park has experienced differences from the civil service organization. He said, "The biggest difference between being a businessperson and being an ombudsman is that when the owner gives direct instructions, things happen quickly, but here, due to regulations, rules, and various stepwise reporting requirements, things are delayed. I have been making efforts to correct these parts."

He added, "I turned possibilities into realities and made small experiences into significant realities," emphasizing, "I worked by integrating entrepreneurial spirit into my duties."

He also emphasized the difficulty of regulatory improvement and the need for continuous efforts. Ombudsman Park said, "Regulations are not lifted overnight," and "We must continuously strive to resolve issues."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.