[Exclusive] Yoon's Proposal to Abolish 'Sandbags'... Regulatory Reform Advocate 'Kim Jong-seok' to Oversee

-Kim Jong-seok, Distinguished Professor at SUNY Korea, Appointed as Head of Pan-Government Regulatory Innovation TF
-Proposed Various Regulatory Reform Bills During His Time as a Lawmaker, Presidential Office "Will Handle Well"
-Professor Kim "Markets Change and Technology Evolves... Regulations Without Grounds Need to Be Revised"

Kim Jong-seok, distinguished professor at SUNY Korea and former Saenuri Party lawmaker, appointed as co-leader of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's 'Economic Regulatory Innovation Task Force (TF)'. /

"We will start by reviewing regulations that fail to keep up with the changing times."

(Asia Economy, Reporter Bae Kyunghwan) Professor Kim Jong-seok, Distinguished Professor at SUNY Korea, will lead the newly launched 'Economic Regulatory Innovation Task Force (TF)' established under President Yoon Seok-yeol's directive for 'removing sandbags.' Professor Kim, a former member of the Saenuri Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party), is one of Korea's leading advocates for regulatory reform and has been an economic policy brain supporting President Yoon directly and indirectly since the early days of the presidential transition committee. In a phone interview with Asia Economy, Professor Kim stated, "We need to start by addressing regulations that have lost their basis in an era where markets and technologies have changed," outlining the future direction of the Regulatory Innovation TF.

According to the presidential office on the 20th, Professor Kim has been appointed as the civilian co-leader of the Regulatory Innovation TF, which includes ministers from various departments participating directly to reform regulations and revise economic penal provisions. A presidential office official said, "(Professor Kim) is recognized as the top expert in regulatory economics in Korea and has extensive experience in various activities aimed at abolishing regulations in the National Assembly," adding, "Together with Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho, he is expected to effectively address regulatory reform tasks by department as well as corporate demands in line with government policy directions."

Professor Kim graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in economics. He served as the head of the Saenuri Party's Yeouido Research Institute, was a member of the 20th National Assembly, and a member of the Emergency Committee of the Liberty Korea Party, consistently advocating for deregulation. During the Park Geun-hye administration, he served as the chairman of the economic subcommittee of the Presidential Regulatory Reform Committee. He also held the position of vice-chairman of the Economic and Social Committee in the People Power Party's Central Election Committee and is a member of the 'Economic and Social Research Institute,' identified as part of President Yoon's talent pool.

During his time as a lawmaker, he took the lead in proposing amendments such as the National Assembly Act revision mandating regulatory impact assessments for regulatory bills to prevent excessive and poor regulations, and the 'Corporate Restructuring Promotion Act Amendment,' which grants immunity to corporate restructuring practitioners. These initiatives align with President Yoon's ongoing policy focus on removing the 'sandbags' burdening companies since his inauguration.

Professor Kim plans to make the Regulatory Innovation TF a driving force for economic growth under the new administration. He said, "Given President Yoon's strong will, together with Deputy Prime Minister Choo, we will carefully review the regulatory reform plans established by each ministry and provide support that can raise public consensus," adding, "Until now, the process involved private sector proposals and recipient judgments, but now we will evaluate the necessity of maintaining regulations from the private sector's perspective." The first area to review will be "regulations that fail to keep pace with changes in the times," based on the judgment that the factors justifying these regulations at the time of their introduction have now disappeared and regulations must adapt accordingly.

The presidential office and government ministries expect that with Professor Kim leading the Regulatory Innovation TF, many of the corporate 'sandbags' will be removed. Deputy Prime Minister Choo, who will serve as co-leader with Professor Kim, has already declared that all efforts will be focused on dismantling key regulations through the TF. Professor Kim has also identified 'regulatory reform' as the solution to overcoming the current economic crisis, praising the Yoon administration's private-sector-led growth strategy as the right direction.

Recently, Professor Kim personally participated in a senior public officials training session organized to share the Yoon administration's national agenda, delivering lectures on regulatory innovation strategies to over 1,100 mid- to high-ranking officials from various ministries. A senior government official said, "The economic agenda of the current administration is to vigorously pursue regulatory innovation until all key regulations are abolished, which is the basic policy of the presidential economic team," and predicted, "Professor Kim will lead public-private joint strategic meetings and focus intensively on outcomes that enhance market awareness."

With President Yoon's directive for each ministry to establish regulatory reform tasks progressing rapidly, Professor Kim is expected to coordinate detailed directions with each ministry soon. According to our confirmation, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is conducting cost-benefit analyses on newly introduced or strengthened regulations within its legal framework and is discussing improvements as reform tasks. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has reported to the presidential office its plans to identify multi-ministry and multi-law regulations such as 'bulk regulations' and 'easing criminal penalties for businesspeople.' Additionally, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, which should lead the new government's regulatory reforms, is working on enacting a special law to establish a system for improving SME productivity beyond deregulation. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are developing concrete messaging strategies to inform the public about the government's comprehensive regulatory innovation plans.

A presidential office official stated, "The Regulatory Innovation TF will include direct participation from ministers as well as various private organizations such as the Korea Development Institute, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Korea Federation of SMEs, and Korea Venture Business Association. Based on Professor Kim's legislative experience and accumulated know-how from various research institutions, he will swiftly lead the new government's regulatory reforms."

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