Lee Young: "Regulatory Innovation, a Sure Start to Change... Results of the Prime Minister-led Meeting to Be Announced Soon"

Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Hold Startup and Venture Policy Council on the 13th
Industry Calls for "Expansion of Corporate Tax Reduction" and "Creation of Private MoFund"
Announces Incentive Expansion and Private-Centered Policy Direction

Group photo of the Startup and Venture Policy Sharing Council held on the 13th at Tipstown in Seoul. (From left) Shin Jin-oh, President of the Korea Accelerator Association; Nam Min-woo, Chairman of the Korea Youth Entrepreneurship Foundation; Kim Bun-hee, President of the Korea Women Venture Association; Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups; Kang Sam-kwon, President of the Venture Business Association; Park Jae-wook, Chairman of the Korea Startup Forum; Go Young-ha, President of the Korea Angel Investment Association; Ji Sung-bae, President of the Korea Venture Capital Association.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Lee Young, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, met with the startup and venture industry to express his commitment to regulatory reform. He announced plans to create a private sector-led investment environment to revitalize the venture ecosystem and to collaborate with other ministries and the National Assembly to improve various systems.

On the morning of the 13th, Minister Lee held a policy consultation meeting with seven heads of venture and startup associations at Tipstown S6 in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul. The meeting was organized to share the new government's startup and venture policy directions with the industry and to reflect private sector opinions in policy directions.

As a former venture entrepreneur, Minister Lee expressed familiarity by saying, "It feels like coming home to meet family." He emphasized, "As I serve as a minister representing the industry, it is important to solve and eliminate the long-standing problems that have become deeply rooted and are holding us back, one by one."

The attendees candidly shared various difficulties and challenges they experienced on the ground.

Kang Sam-kwon, Chairman of the Korea Venture Business Association, requested regulatory improvements at the level of advanced countries and an expansion of corporate tax reduction benefits. Chairman Kang said, "Currently, the government provides a 50% corporate tax reduction for venture companies within three years of establishment, but there are hardly any companies within three years that pay corporate tax," adding, "This should be expanded to companies up to 10 years old, and additional tax reduction benefits should be granted based on their contribution to job creation."

Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is speaking at the Startup Venture Policy Sharing Council held on the 13th at Tipstown in Seoul.

He argued, "Regulatory innovation aligned with global standards is necessary," and added, "A full survey should be conducted on regulations that do not exist in advanced countries, and if the necessity of the regulation cannot be proven, it should be boldly improved."

In response, Minister Lee revealed that he recently held a regulatory innovation meeting with other ministers under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. He said, "After touring the startup expo 'Next Rise' with the Prime Minister and holding a meeting with 15 startups, most of the discussions were about 'regulations.' Subsequently, the Prime Minister convened a meeting where five ministers gathered to discuss five agenda items."

Minister Lee added that some of the agenda items discussed that day included problems that had not been resolved for years. He said, "The Ministry of Science and ICT will soon officially announce the results," and added, "We are proceeding in a direction to eliminate large-scale regulatory burdens. Although the pace may be slow, definite changes have begun."

Nam Min-woo, Chairman of the Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation, raised the need to ease regulations on the service industry, to which Minister Lee responded, "We need to pay attention to new industries that create added value, discover regulations, and bring them to the forefront as issues."

Ji Sung-bae, Chairman of the Korea Venture Capital Association, stated, "To nurture unicorns (unlisted companies valued at over 1 trillion won), government-led mother funds should play a pioneering role," and diagnosed, "If the legal basis for forming private mother funds is established, scale-up investments will also become smoother."

The scene of the Startup Venture Policy Sharing Council held on the 13th at Tipstown in Seoul.

Minister Lee replied, "The recognition of the importance of mother funds remains unchanged in the new government," but added, "We are exploring ways to provide various incentives while signaling that the investment market should be driven by the private sector rather than government-led."

Park Jae-wook, Chairman of the Korea Startup Forum, emphasized the activation of negative regulation, saying, "The policy principle should be that anything not explicitly prohibited by law can be done," while Kim Bun-hee, Chairwoman of the Korea Women Venture Association, urged, "We must actively utilize female talent as a turning point toward becoming an advanced country."

Ko Young-ha, Chairman of the Korea Angel Investment Association, stressed the need to increase investment outside the metropolitan area and revitalize the local startup ecosystem to address the problem of regional extinction.

In response, Minister Lee expressed his commitment to △strategic policy support for women-owned businesses △activation of regional angel investments △expansion of stock option tax benefits.

After the event, he told reporters, "Strong will is necessary for regulatory reform," and shared his thoughts, "While serving as minister, I have resolved to make progress and realize the voices from the field into policy."

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