Medium-sized Business Ombudsman "Sympathizes with Small Business Owners' Inconveniences and the Need for System Improvement"

"Continuous Consultation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance to Reflect in the Suggestion System"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Park Ju-bong, Small and Medium Business Ombudsman (vice ministerial level), stated on the 30th, "I empathize with the difficulties small business owners face when applying for disaster relief funds and the need for system improvements."

On the same day, Ombudsman Park, along with In Tae-yeon, Secretary for Self-Employment at the Presidential Secretariat, attended the 'Incheon-Gyeonggi Region Small Business Owners On-site Meeting' held in the conference room on the 7th floor of the Daeju Building in Jung-gu, Incheon. When Hong Jong-jin, Chairman of the Incheon Small Business Association, requested to eliminate inconveniences such as issuing additional documents during the disaster relief fund application process, Park expressed his agreement.

Ombudsman Park further stated, "However, adding items to the business registration certificate requires comprehensive consideration of the workload on the relevant tax office and the effectiveness of the system," and added, "We will continuously consult with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to reflect these suggestions in the system."

Small business owners from the Incheon-Gyeonggi region requested Ombudsman Park and Secretary In to resolve various inconveniences. Lee Hwang-hoon, Director of the Incheon Songdo Other Machinery Equipment Center, said, "Due to the prolonged social distancing caused by COVID-19 and decreased sales, many restaurants and retail stores have reduced their number of regular employees to five or fewer this year," and requested, "Please improve the small business owner criteria from the 'average number of regular employees in the previous year' to the 'average number of regular employees over the past 12 months' so that more businesses can receive small business support benefits."

Ombudsman Park explained, "Currently, a bill to amend the Small Business Basic Act, which supplements the blind spots of the number of regular employees and changes the small business owner criteria to a single sales amount standard, has been submitted to the National Assembly," and responded, "We will actively respond to the National Assembly's discussion process together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups."

Additionally, attendees requested improvements to difficulties experienced on-site, including △ easing employment standards under the special employment permit system for foreign workers, △ increasing the allowable number of foreign workers employed, △ expanding the information provided in the business registration certificate, and △ establishing a preemptive prevention system for false labeling of livestock product origins.

Secretary In Tae-yeon stated, "With the recent increase in confirmed and critically ill patients, it is a concerning situation, and merchant associations must thoroughly check quarantine rules and maintain vigilance," adding, "The Moon Jae-in administration, as a crisis-overcoming government, plans to do its best to support the recovery of small business owners' management conditions."

Ombudsman Park emphasized, "Since June, together with the Blue House Self-Employment Secretary's Office, we have visited six major hub cities to listen to the on-site difficulties of traditional markets and small business owners," and added, "As a result, we identified about 60 regulatory difficulties, achieving outcomes including acceptance of 11 cases and long-term review of 12 cases. We will continue to make our best efforts to address the difficulties and grievances of small business owners."

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