"260 General Election Policy Tasks Delivered to Each Party"

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, New Year Press Conference

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, is delivering a greeting at the meeting to ease regulations on small and medium enterprises with Cho Myung-rae, Minister of Environment, held on the 8th of last month at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz), stated on the 3rd, "This year, amid challenging conditions such as the novel coronavirus infection, prolonged domestic demand slump, and rapid changes in the labor environment, 'crisis' and 'opportunity' will coexist," adding, "I hope the 21st general election will lead to the operation of an 'economic National Assembly' and a 'small and medium business National Assembly.'"

Kbiz held a 2020 New Year press conference at its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul on the same day. At the event, Chairman Kim said, "We will strive for various policy efforts to improve the business environment," and "In collaboration with SME organizations and expert groups, we have identified 260 policy tasks across nine areas for the general election, which will be sequentially delivered to each political party under the name of 16 central SME organizations before the election."

Chairman Kim pointed out the top priority policy tasks desired by the SME sector as ▲ deregulation ▲ coexistence between large and small businesses ▲ revitalization of cooperatives ▲ and boosting the vitality of small merchants. Specifically, he requested improvements to environmental regulations such as the Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (Chemicals Control Act) and the Chemical Substances Control Act to create an ecosystem for the sustainable growth of SMEs. He also emphasized the need for voluntary coexistence cooperation at the private level before legally binding laws.

Kbiz plans to directly adjust delivery prices on behalf of individual SMEs and cooperatives through the right to negotiate delivery price adjustments. Chairman Kim said, "The disappearance of industry-specific cooperatives results in the disappearance of that industry in the country," and demanded recognition of the SME status of cooperatives, clarification of uncertain cartel application standards, and expansion of ordinances fostering SME cooperatives to basic local governments. He added, "Government-level prompt response is necessary for SMEs experiencing temporary sales declines due to direct damage from the novel coronavirus," requesting "policy authorities to establish a proactive special management stabilization fund (supporting at least 10 million KRW)."

As a comprehensive plan to revitalize the grassroots economy, he proposed ▲ establishing legal grounds to support aging distribution markets ▲ supporting social insurance premiums for small merchants ▲ smart modernization of small supermarkets ▲ and social backing against unfair practices in the online market.

On the same day, Kbiz also announced the '21st General Election SME Policy Tasks.' The policy tasks consist of 260 items across nine areas: ▲ laying the foundation for future growth engines ▲ coexistence between large and small businesses and establishment of a fair economy ▲ creating an ecosystem for the sustainable growth of SMEs ▲ revitalization of SME cooperatives ▲ boosting the vitality of small merchants for grassroots economic recovery ▲ creating an environment for more and better jobs ▲ strengthening support for new market entry beyond domestic demand ▲ SME policy tasks by industry and organization ▲ and revitalization of regional economies and local SMEs.

Specifically, to secure future growth engines, they proposed raising awareness and supporting the advancement of smart factories, flexible application of regulatory special periods to resolve uncertainties after the expiration of special permits and approval periods, and improvement of the temporary permit system. They also requested support for technology localization through coexistence cooperation development in materials, parts, and equipment industries to bridge the gap between large and small businesses, and strengthening sanctions against unfair trade practices. For job environment creation, expansion of flexible and selective working hours systems, differentiated minimum wage implementation by industry and scale, strengthening online exhibition projects for new market entry, and establishing safety measures for the stable operation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex were included in the election tasks.

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