Chairman Park Seonghyo: "Office Relocation, Situation Complicated... More Deliberation Needed"

Park Sung-hyo, Chairman of the Small Enterprise and Market Service.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Park Seonghyo, Chairman of the Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS), expressed mixed feelings on the 27th regarding the recent controversy over the office relocation.

On the same day, Park held a press conference marking his 100th day in office at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, stating, "The office relocation was pursued to improve employee treatment," but also added, "Various opinions have emerged from local commercial districts and political circles, making the situation complicated."

Since his inauguration on July 18, Park has been promoting a plan to move the SEMAS office from Jung-gu, the old downtown area of Daejeon, to Yuseong-gu, a newly developed district. In this regard, both ruling and opposition parties have criticized him for focusing solely on the office relocation, which has yet to secure a budget, rather than proposing policies to support small business owners and self-employed individuals struggling due to COVID-19.

On this day, seemingly aware of public opinion, Park cautiously expressed the justification for the office relocation but did not retract his previous stance. He said, "The agency has been paying rent for a 30-year-old building for nine years," adding, "Although the building is old, the rent keeps increasing." He continued, "The building in Yuseong-gu was constructed only a year ago, so I thought it would be good for improving employee working conditions," and added, "More consideration is needed regarding the office relocation."

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