Mid-sized Ombudsman Conducts Comprehensive Revision of 206 Key Regulations in Public Institutions

125 'Corporate Growth Response Centers' by Public Institutions Fully Operational, Actively Discovering and Sharing Best Practices for Regulatory Improvement

3rd Public Institution On-site Empathy Small Business Regulatory Difficulty Improvement Plan.
[Graphic=Small Business Ombudsman]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Company D, a specialized R&D company in the renewable energy sector, possesses collaborative research capabilities with public institutions but was unable to participate in government projects related to renewable energy because it did not fall under the eligible industries. Company B faced difficulties as it could not request the prime contractor to reflect the increased labor and material costs in the delivery price, thus fulfilling contracts at the original price.

The Small and Medium Business Ombudsman pushed for the abolition of industry restrictions to provide opportunities for SMEs like Company D to actively participate in government projects. Additionally, regulations were improved so that many subcontractors like Company B could increase delivery prices and receive fair compensation if objective reasons such as price fluctuations or design changes were confirmed, even without separately applying for price increases.

On the 27th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman announced the "3rd Public Institution Field-Responsive SME Regulatory Improvement Plan" at the "28th Emergency Economic Central Countermeasure Headquarters Meeting and the 1st Innovation Growth Strategy Meeting of 2021," and decided to actively disseminate these exemplary regulatory improvement cases.

This improvement plan expanded regulatory reform achievements more than the 1st and 2nd rounds due to the active participation of more public institutions, the full operation of 125 institution-specific "Enterprise Growth Response Centers" installed collectively last October, and the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman's efforts to discover and apply best practices.

Furthermore, regulatory improvements in public institutions, which have close contact with businesses and the field, were focused on enhancing corporate competitiveness and supporting crisis recovery so that they could serve as a pillar for companies and small business owners facing survival crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following this announcement, the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman plans to focus on regulatory innovation in four major areas of public institutions: ▲ rationalization of regulations related to technology development, certification, and construction (29 cases), ▲ resolution of procurement and sales channel regulatory difficulties (97 cases), ▲ easing of financial support conditions and burden reduction (39 cases), and ▲ alleviation of inconveniences such as document submission and procedural simplification (41 cases), with a total of 206 core regulations to be collectively revised.

Park Joo-bong, Deputy Minister-level Small and Medium Business Ombudsman, stated, "With the installation and operation of the Enterprise Growth Response Centers, regulatory improvements in public institutions are becoming established as a culture of proactive administration," adding, "The Small and Medium Business Ombudsman plans to accelerate the creation of outcomes in public institution regulatory innovation by announcing the 'Corporate Vitality Enhancement Index,' which measures the corporate perception of regulatory improvements in public institutions in the first half of this year."

Kang Sung-chun, Acting Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "This improvement plan represents warm regulatory improvements by 83 public institutions and regulatory innovation that makes SMEs healthier," urging, "Let us not forget that even small regulations are a heavy burden for companies, and public institutions should strive harder for proactive administration and regulatory innovation."

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