Yoon Orders Minister of SMEs to Properly Adjust Supply Prices... "Must Ease Burden on Small Business Owners" (Update)

Emphasis on Eradicating Unfair Trade Practices That Stifle SMEs Such as Technology Theft... "Focus on Support Policy Capabilities"

President Yoon Suk-yeol received a briefing from Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 12th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Seok-yeol on the 12th instructed Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, to "create a win-win cooperation environment so that the delivery prices of partner companies can be appropriately adjusted due to the recent rise in raw material prices." Regarding Minister Lee's report that "we will reduce the loan interest burden on small business owners affected by COVID-19," President Yoon responded, "Please concentrate policy capabilities."

President Yoon received a business report from Minister Lee at the Yongsan Presidential Office building on the same day and conveyed these additional instructions. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) business report was conducted for about an hour starting at 2 p.m. Attending the meeting were Chief Secretary Kim Dae-gi and Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok, while Minister Lee attended alone without other MSS officials.

First, President Yoon said, "Since raw material prices have recently risen, please create a win-win cooperation environment so that the delivery prices of partner companies can be appropriately adjusted." On this day, Minister Lee presented the goal of preparing a standard contract form and conducting a pilot operation by the second half of this year to introduce a 'delivery price linkage system' reflecting the increase in raw material prices. In particular, the MSS plans to mandate the inclusion of delivery price linkage clauses in contracts but leave the linkage method and detailed regulations to the autonomy of companies to avoid excessively restricting market freedom.

President Yoon also stated, "Please eradicate unfair trade practices that dampen the business motivation of small and medium enterprises, including technology theft." He further urged, "Please focus policy capabilities on financial support, R&D support, and market access support so that startup companies can grow into strong and global companies." Additionally, he requested that the smooth succession of family businesses in SMEs be ensured.

Meanwhile, Minister Lee reported the MSS business plan, which aims to pursue customized tasks targeting ventures, startups, small business owners, and SMEs under the vision of "leading the digital economy era driven by SMEs and startups." Minister Lee said, "Going forward, the MSS will focus policy capabilities to leap forward as a leading country driven by SMEs and startups in the upcoming digital economy era," adding, "Startup ventures will lead the future through global market development and ultra-gap startups, and small business owners will overcome the current triple crisis and be nurtured into entrepreneurial small business owners."

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