Korea Federation of SMEs Calls for "Regulatory Reform"... Submits 229 On-Site Regulatory Reform Tasks (Comprehensive)

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Related Ministers, Vice Ministers, and Over 130 SME Entrepreneurs Hold On-site Discussion
PM Han: "SMEs Are Players Enhancing Economic Productivity"

(From left) Bang Moon-kyu, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination; Kim Ki-moon, President of the Korea Federation of SMEs; Han Duck-soo, Prime Minister; and Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups attended the "SME Regulatory Reform Grand Debate" hosted by the Korea Federation of SMEs on the 17th.
[Photo by Korea Federation of SMEs]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Minjae] The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KSMB) held the ‘SME Regulatory Reform Grand Forum’ on the 17th at the KSMB headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Over the past two months, all KSMB executives and staff visited SME sites nationwide and compiled 229 ‘SME Regulatory Reform Tasks,’ which were delivered to the government.

At the forum, government officials including Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Director-General Bang Moon-gyu of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Vice Minister Yoo Je-cheol of the Ministry of Environment, Vice Minister Lee Won-jae of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Deputy Director Kwon Oh-sang of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, as well as heads and directors from regulatory-related ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and National Tax Service attended. From the SME sector, about 130 people including KSMB Chairman Kim Ki-moon, Senior Vice Chairman Kwon Hyuk-hong, heads of SME-related organizations, and chairpersons of industry-specific cooperatives were present.

Chairman Kim said, “SMEs have lower regulatory response capabilities compared to large corporations and face difficulties due to the lack of channels to convey field voices,” adding, “Today, we delivered 229 SME field regulatory reform tasks, and we will continue to identify field regulations and actively communicate with the government.”

Heads of SME-related organizations and cooperative chairpersons proposed 12 regulations across 8 areas including environmental regulations, location regulations, certification regulations, and reporting and labeling regulations. Kim Bok-deok, Chairman of the Korea Lighting Equipment LED Industry Cooperative, stated, “The Producer Responsibility Recycling System (EPR system) to be introduced in 2023 is flawed legislation,” explaining, “The actual collection rate of flat LED lighting is only 2.5%, falling short of the mandatory rate of 17.5%, resulting in an annual industry burden of 26.5 billion KRW for manufacturers. This exceeds the operating profit of the entire industry.”

Seo Sang-yeon, Chairman of the Seoul Gyeongin Ascon Industry Cooperative, lamented, “It is very difficult for factories located in planned management areas to comply with increasingly stringent environmental regulations,” adding, “One company invested 17.5 billion KRW to build reduction facilities to meet emission standards for eight new specific air pollutants but was forced to close as it failed to meet those standards.”

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Han referred to President Yoon Seok-youl’s August 15 Liberation Day speech, stating, “The success of our economy depends on how much productivity can be increased through freedom, regulatory innovation, and responsible competition.” He added, “The new government believes that SMEs should be the players that raise productivity across the entire economy.”

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, “The ministry is operating its own regulatory innovation task force, and since all regulations exist on the ground, we are identifying them through local SME offices and cooperative organizations,” noting, “Among about 100 tasks identified within the ministry so far, 61 were discovered as direct field difficulties, and 39 were identified as hurdles related to new industry entry regulations.”

Minister Lee also stated, “Separately from the government-wide regulatory innovation system, the ministry plans to announce a regulatory improvement plan related to new industries by the end of September. Additionally, we plan to announce by the end of the year and implement next year significant improvements to the complex application procedures and difficult post-management of policies and R&D funding currently underway.”

Meanwhile, as a side event of the forum, on-site booths involving regulatory-related ministries (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of SMEs and Startups) were set up and operated, and on-site consultations were conducted for about 20 pre-registered regulatory cases.

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