Yoon Government Task Force Tailored Organization... Ministry of SMEs and Startups Executes Restructuring

To Promote Global Innovation Zones,
Temporary Organization Regulatory Free Zone Team
Reorganized into Special Zone Innovation Planning Team

With This Reorganization, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups Headquarters
Will Operate Focused on National Tasks and Current Issues

The Amendment Will Be Promulgated and Enforced on the 20th

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) carried out an organizational restructuring on the 13th. Some department names and roles were also changed to respond quickly to national tasks and policy issues.

On the same day, MSS announced that the "Partial Amendment Ordinance on the Organization of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Its Affiliated Agencies," which includes the functional reorganization of the Special Zone Innovation Planning Group, fostering entrepreneurial small merchants, and the transfer of the Technology Innovation Policy Officer, was approved at the Cabinet meeting. Going forward, MSS will operate its headquarters centered on 1 Vice Minister, 4 offices, 14 bureaus/divisions, and 46 sections, along with 13 regional offices, 4 offices, and 3 national public high schools. The amendment will be promulgated and enforced on the 20th.

According to the reorganization plan, the temporary organization, the Regulatory Free Special Zone Planning Group, was reorganized into the "Special Zone Innovation Planning Group" and transferred to the Startup Venture Innovation Office. This aims to systematically promote the national task of the ‘Global Innovation Special Zone’ policy. A new legal basis and operating department for the creation of global innovation special zones were established and arranged, expanding to three divisions: overall special zone policy management, special zone evaluation/designation, and commercialization support.

The Startup Venture Innovation Office is led by Director Jeongwook Lim, who was recruited externally last October. He has served as CEO of Lycos, Head of Global Division at Daum Communications (now Kakao), TBT Venture Partner, and Director of Startup Alliance Center.

The Small Merchant Policy Office changed the names of some divisions under the Small Merchant Policy Officer. It will operate with five divisions: Small Merchant Policy Division, Digital Small Merchant Division, Small Merchant Growth Promotion Division, Local Commercial District Division, and Traditional Market Division. These divisions plan to establish legal bases for fostering small merchants and scaling up small merchants, thereby laying the operational foundation to strengthen innovative growth policies for small merchants. Under the Win-Win Cooperation Policy Officer are the Win-Win Cooperation Policy Division, Business Area Adjustment Division, and Unfair Trade Improvement Division. The Small Merchant COVID-19 Recovery Support Team operates with the Small Merchant Loss Compensation Division and Small Merchant Reboot Division.

The Small Merchant Policy Office is led by Dahee Lee, former Director of Economic Structural Reform Bureau at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, appointed in July. He graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Business Administration and earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Birmingham, UK. He entered public service in 1994 through the 37th Administrative Examination and is a policy expert with 26 years of experience at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The Technology Innovation Policy Officer, previously under the Startup Venture Innovation Office, was transferred to the SME Policy Office. This unifies policies related to production factors necessary for SME growth, such as capital, manpower, and research and development (R&D), under the SME Policy Office to systematically promote SME support policies. Additionally, to enhance the capacity to respond to international environmental changes in SME sectors such as global supply chains and ESG (environment, social, governance), a Corporate Environment Policy Division was newly established under the SME Policy Officer.

The SME Policy Office is overseen by Director Taeseop Byun, the only office chief retained under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration among the four offices of MSS. He graduated from Korea University with a degree in Public Administration and earned a master's degree in Public Administration from Washington State University, USA. He entered public service in 1996 through the 38th Administrative Examination and has worked at MSS for over 20 years. He is particularly recognized for his expertise in SME policy and planning and budgeting.

The Planning and Coordination Office saw only minor changes in the titles of some officers during this reorganization, with no major changes. Since June, the office has been led by Director Kiwoong Oh, in his 40s. Director Oh graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in Economics and earned a master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado, USA. He entered public service in 1996 through the 39th Administrative Examination and has worked for 26 years at the Small and Medium Business Administration and MSS. He is regarded as a ‘policy expert’ who has held key positions overseeing SME organization, budget, and policy, including Head of Startup Promotion Division at the Small and Medium Business Administration, Administrative Officer at the Presidential Secretariat, Planning and Finance Officer, MSS Policy Planning Officer, Venture Innovation Policy Officer, and Startup Promotion Policy Officer.

Through this reorganization, the MSS headquarters has been systematized to focus on national tasks and current issues, while the regional Small and Medium Venture Business Offices have been systematized to focus on unique regional administrative functions such as regulatory improvement, investigation, verification, and regional policies. MSS plans to maximize the outcomes of national tasks by not only improving functional efficiency between offices and bureaus but also reallocating existing organizations and personnel according to policy priorities, effectively utilizing existing human resources.

Minister Young Lee of MSS stated, "With the launch of the new government, we prepared the reorganization plan prioritizing the fulfillment of the mission entrusted to MSS and focusing on the voices from the field of SMEs, startups, ventures, and small merchants." He added, "The newly reorganized MSS, including the headquarters, 13 regional offices nationwide, and affiliated public institutions, will unite as one team to do its best to create national achievements that the public can feel."

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