SME Representatives Meet Ahn Cheol-soo, Requesting Amendments to the Serious Accident Punishment Act

Candidate Ahn Presents SME Vision at Korea Federation of SMEs
Industry Stakeholders Gather to Submit SME Policy Proposal

Ahn Cheol-soo, presidential candidate of the People’s Party. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Bo-kyung and Kwak Min-jae] On the 4th, the Korea Federation of SMEs held a vision presentation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, at the Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul.

About 100 people attended the event, including Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Federation of SMEs, heads of SME organizations, representatives of SMEs and small business owners by industry, venture and startup representatives, and youth preparing for employment.

Candidate Ahn presented his vision for SMEs under the theme "A Super-gap Digital Leading Nation and a New Future for SMEs." He announced plans to support SMEs with a budget exceeding 1 trillion won to place them at the center of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and to nurture 200,000 core talents in future technologies over five years. He also conveyed plans to establish a "Regulatory Innovation Dedicated Ministry" to achieve prioritized and radical regulatory reforms.

The SME sector proposed key issues including △strengthening SMEs’ digital capabilities △flexibilization of the 52-hour workweek system △supplementing the Serious Accident Punishment Act △regulatory relaxation for fostering new industries △support for SME re-challenge, along with delivering a policy proposal for SMEs.

Chairman Kim urged resolving the polarization between large and small-to-medium enterprises. He said, "To realize the 'society rooted in justice and fairness' emphasized by candidate Ahn, resolving polarization is a priority," adding, "The government and political circles must take the lead in establishing the value of fairness."

He continued, "The digital transformation of SMEs scores only 41 out of 100," and expressed hope that SME policy pledges would become a core national agenda for the next government, leading to a great transition into an 'era of SME growth.'

He also argued, "Without labor market flexibilization, job creation is impossible," and stressed, "We must correct the tilted playing field in favor of labor and create a culture where labor and management grow together."

Kim Ki-moon, President of the Korea Federation of SMEs. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On this day, SME representatives requested easing of the recently implemented Serious Accident Punishment Act, regulatory reforms, and support for digital transformation.

Kim Seung-gi, standing vice chairman of the Korea Specialty Construction Association, said, "Since 99% of SMEs are owner-led, the Serious Accident Punishment Act is even called 'a law that sends SME owners to prison,'" and added, "There must be provisions to ease punishment for business owners and exempt them from liability if there is no intentional or gross negligence."

Kang Sam-kwon, chairman of the Korea Venture Business Association, emphasized, "Regulatory relaxation is most important for fostering new industries," and proposed, "We need to create an environment for new industry market entry and shift the regulatory system to a negative list basis."

Park Kyung-yeol, director of the Korea Spatial Information Industry Cooperative, stressed the importance of digital transformation, saying, "Institutional improvements are needed to nurture digital talents tailored to field demands, open platform core technologies of big tech companies, and enhance SMEs’ autonomy in conducting R&D projects."

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