Ministry of SMEs and Startups Selects 23 Exemplary Cases of Proactive Administration Including Small Business Loss Compensation System

23 Projects Selected Including Support for Development of Low Dead Space Vaccine Syringes

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The prompt payment of disaster relief funds for small business owners and the win-win cooperation case resolving the technical dispute between Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samyoung Machinery were selected as exemplary cases of proactive administration by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 23rd that it had selected 23 exemplary cases of proactive administration, including the above cases.

The ministry selected 23 outstanding cases from 79 cases of policies and system improvements implemented this year, considering public perception and the enthusiasm of the officials in charge. It added that the final grades were decided after on-site presentations and staff voting.

The top 5 exemplary cases included ▲resolution of the technical dispute between Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samyoung Machinery ▲establishment and implementation of the small business loss compensation system ▲mass production of minimum residual vaccine syringes using smart factories ▲meal kit development of Baeknyeon Gaegae menus ▲support for export logistics of small businesses through collaboration with HMM.

The case resolving the technical dispute between Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samyoung Machinery received the highest evaluation as it was the first case to resolve a technical dispute between a large corporation and a small business through cooperation rather than punishment.

Until now, small businesses have faced great burdens in proving technology infringement and litigation costs when technical disputes with large corporations arise. To alleviate this burden, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups introduced ‘administrative investigations of technology infringement’ through amendments to the Technology Protection Act.

The dispute was difficult to settle due to the scale of the case and significant differences among stakeholders, but under the leadership of Officer Kim Hyekyu, eight rounds of working-level consultations were held. During this process, a plan was proposed for Hyundai Heavy Industries to support the application costs for Samyoung Machinery’s R&D support projects. As a result, on September 5th, a final agreement was reached to conclude all 12 disputes between the two companies that had lasted for five years.

Administrative procedure simplification to enhance public convenience was also one of the outstanding cases. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups collaborated with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to reduce the number of documents required for startup company verification from six to two. In March this year, by linking the public MyData system of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety with the startup company verification system, the number of certificates issued increased from a maximum of 28 per day to 53, an improvement of 90% compared to before.

Additionally, in cooperation with the National Tax Service, the procedure for issuing small business verification certificates was simplified. Since June 2022, applicants can receive the certificate immediately by simply filling out an application in the ‘Small Business Status Information System’ without submitting additional financial documents, streamlining the issuance process.

Support for guarantees and maturity extensions for closed small business owners was also selected as an exemplary case. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups established a legal basis through legislative amendments to allow guarantees (loans) previously provided only to business operators to be extended to individuals who have closed their businesses. As a temporary measure for maturity extension, a one-year extension was provided for closed business operators. As a result, maturity extensions were granted for 5,073 cases amounting to 112.4 billion won in guarantees.

Support for export small businesses, such as resolving export logistics difficulties through collaboration with the national shipping company HMM and attracting investment by exempting businesspeople from quarantine, was also selected.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups cooperated with the national shipping company HMM to expand shipping space for small businesses to alleviate export logistics difficulties. It also urgently allocated supplementary budgets to establish a logistics-dedicated export voucher and implemented various support policies. As a result, by October, 14,000 containers for small business shipments were supported, reducing logistics costs by 16.3 billion won.

Furthermore, the issuance period for quarantine exemption certificates for businesspeople was shortened from 7 days to 2 days, enabling rapid issuance. This led to various achievements in the export sector, including signing export contracts worth 3 million USD and concluding MOUs for overseas investment attraction.

Other exemplary cases selected included meal kit development of Baeknyeon Gaegae menus and prompt payment of disaster relief funds for small business owners. The proactive administration outstanding officials selected this time will receive exceptional incentives according to their grades, such as ministerial commendations, highest performance pay grades, special promotions, and promotion points.

Cho Kyungwon, Policy Planning Officer at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “This year, various support cases for small businesses and small business owners struggling due to COVID-19 were selected as exemplary cases. We will strive to ensure that the public can feel the effects of the Ministry’s diverse support policies.”

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