Park Jubong Appointed as the 5th Small and Medium Business Ombudsman

Jubong Park, Small and Medium Business Ombudsman. / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Kwon Chil-seung) announced on the 26th that Park Ju-bong, the current Ombudsman, has been appointed as the 5th Deputy Minister-level Small and Medium Enterprise Ombudsman (photo).

Park Ju-bong, who was appointed as the 4th Ombudsman with the launch of the Moon Jae-in administration, led 3,308 institutional improvements addressing unreasonable regulatory difficulties based on about 380 communications with companies during his tenure. This is the highest achievement compared to previous administrations.

In particular, in 2019, he expanded the 'Really! Good SME Award' to the 'Korea SME Regulatory Innovation Award' and established the 'Hammer Award,' symbolizing regulatory innovation, to encourage proactive regulatory improvements by public officials, leading efforts to broaden the base of regulatory reform. The Hammer Award was benchmarked after the 'Hammer Award' of the Bill Clinton administration in the United States and was created to promote regulatory innovation through proactive administration by public officials.

He is also credited with creating a proactive administrative atmosphere within the government by being the first to implement the Ombudsman's unique legal authority to recommend exemption from disciplinary action for proactive administration, thereby protecting public officials who were unfairly disciplined despite performing proactive duties.

Ombudsman Park said, "During my tenure, I devoted myself to regulatory reform and expanding its base for small and medium enterprises and improving the recognition of the SME Ombudsman," adding, "I will continue to actively resolve regulatory and difficulty-related issues to strengthen the self-sustainability and vitality of small and medium enterprises, small business owners, and self-employed individuals who are struggling due to the impact of COVID-19."

The SME Ombudsman is an individual and institution at the Deputy Minister level appointed by the Prime Minister upon the recommendation of the Minister of SMEs and Startups and review by the Regulatory Reform Committee under Article 22 of the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises. The term of office is three years, with one possible reappointment.

The main duties include discovering and improving unreasonable regulations related to small and medium enterprises and resolving difficulties in central government, local governments, public institutions, and financial institutions related to SMEs and mid-sized companies, recommending exemption from disciplinary action for proactive administration, protecting corporate complainants, and conducting compliance inspections related to regulatory improvements.

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