What is the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman? ... Government Agency Seeking to Change Its Name

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] People who have experienced harm due to their names or titles often change their names. Companies also sometimes change their corporate names depending on the situation. Can government agencies change their names if the current titles do not help with their work?

Recently, the government agency 'Jungso Gieop Ombudsman' conducted a survey among its employees regarding the change of the agency's name, and the results have drawn attention.

The Jungso Gieop Ombudsman was launched on April 28, 1998, as the successor to the Presidential Commission on Small and Medium Business, which existed until 2008. It was re-established under the Prime Minister in July 2009 during the Lee Myung-bak administration. A vice-minister-level ombudsman and an Ombudsman Support Team, a coalition organization under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, operate to support the ombudsman's work.

The ombudsman mainly represents the rights and interests of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies by identifying and improving unreasonable regulations, resolving difficulties, and protecting corporate complainants. In this process, it also assists public officials who have suffered disadvantages due to proactive administration. These activities are reported annually to the Cabinet, the National Assembly, and the Regulatory Reform Committee.

As of the end of June, over the past three years, the ombudsman and the support team have identified a total of 13,701 regulatory difficulty cases and handled 13,611 of them. This means they dealt with about 15 regulatory issues daily, excluding holidays. During this process, disciplinary actions against seven local government officials who suffered damages were withdrawn or reduced.

This small organization of just over 40 people has demonstrated an incredible workload and achievements. However, the activities of the ombudsman have faded into obscurity. The public still largely does not know about the Jungso Gieop Ombudsman's work, and even many public officials are unaware of its existence.

Given this situation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to carry out its duties. To resolve numerous regulations, it must lead dialogue and cooperation with related ministries and exercise coordination to enhance policy consistency, but it faces limitations as a tiny government agency with low recognition and limited authority.

Consequently, voices within the Ombudsman Support Team are growing louder, calling not only for a change in the agency's name but also for an expansion and reorganization of the organization. To effectively exercise coordination between powerful related ministries and numerous local governments, there is an argument that the previous Presidential Commission on Small and Medium Business system is more suitable.

The Small and Medium Business Commission was composed of 13 ex officio members, including a minister-level chairman who was a Cabinet member, vice ministers of related ministries, and vice chairpersons, as well as 16 appointed members designated by the president. It was subdivided into working committees composed of public officials dispatched from related ministries and subcommittees such as the Small and Medium Business Policy Fund Reform Subcommittee. A Policy Coordination Office was also separately established to handle administrative affairs.

Ultimately, this means that a proper organization must be in place for smooth work processing. Apart from organizational expansion and reorganization, the ombudsman and support team's willingness to change the name is stronger than anything else.

They propose removing the foreign word 'Ombudsman' from the government agency's name and changing it to titles such as 'Corporate Grievance Support Headquarters,' 'Corporate Regulation Grievance Officer,' 'Corporate Regulation Resolution Officer,' 'Small and Medium Business Grievance Officer,' 'Small and Medium Business Regulation Innovation Officer,' or 'Small and Medium Business Ho Min Gwan.' In preparation for a commission system change, names like 'Corporate Grievance Handling Committee' and 'Corporate Rights Committee' have also been considered.

A representative of the Jungso Gieop Ombudsman said, "We have heard many complaints from numerous complainants and business stakeholders that they do not understand what kind of agency the ombudsman is just by hearing the name, and that it is difficult to pronounce." He added, "Because of this, after collecting employees' opinions through the ombudsman website and SNS, enthusiasm for changing the name was quite high."

The representative also said, "A presidential commission with a minister-level chairman is the most appropriate alternative, but it is not expected to be easy. Although no official discussions have been held yet, various names have been proposed, and since employees' enthusiasm is high, we plan to complete the organizational reorganization within this year."

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