Mid-sized Ombudsman "Extension of Cultural Industry Business Closure Reporting Period to 30 Days"

Joo-bong Park, Ombudsman (Vice Minister level).
[Photo by Small and Medium Business Ombudsman]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The Small and Medium Business Ombudsman (vice minister level) announced on the 15th that, after receiving requests from business operators in the cultural industry sector and consulting with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism regarding the extension of the business closure reporting period, they received a response indicating that related laws will be amended.

This is the result of the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman's efforts to assist self-employed individuals in the cultural industry sector who have been inconvenienced by the relatively short business closure reporting period.

Recently, as business closures among self-employed individuals increased due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, many small business owners and self-employed individuals in the cultural industry requested improvements to allow more time for the closure process, citing that the reporting deadline after closure is relatively short. The law stipulates that sectors such as printing and publishing, music, and gaming must report within 7 days after closure, which is excessively short compared to 20 to 30 days in other industries and sectors.

Accordingly, the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman accepted the demands of business operators in the cultural industry sector and consulted with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the relevant authority. Recently, they received a firm commitment from the Ministry to amend related laws to extend the business closure reporting period for operators in music, gaming, printing, and publishing sectors to a maximum of 30 days.

Ombudsman Park Ju-bong stated, "This regulatory improvement is a measure to somewhat comfort business operators who closed their businesses under difficult economic conditions,"

and added, "We will examine whether there are any closure procedures causing inconvenience in other industries and sectors, and will conduct multifaceted reviews with related ministries on ways to support business recovery after closure in the future."

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