Who Are the Top Parliamentarians Selected by the SME Sector? ... Seong Il-jong, Kim Seong-hwan, and 4 Others

Kim Kyung-man, member of the Democratic Party of Korea (second from the left), Kim Ki-moon, President of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Kim Yong-pan, member of the People Power Party, are posing for a commemorative photo at the '2022 Best National Assembly Member Awards Ceremony' held on the 15th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Korea Federation of SMEs

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Min-jae] The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz) announced on the 15th that it selected and awarded the ‘2022 Best Member of the National Assembly Award for Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises’ at the Kbiz headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, recognizing contributions to the protection of rights and the development of SMEs throughout the year.

This year, four members of the National Assembly were selected for the Best Member Award: Seong Il-jong and Kim Yong-pan from the People Power Party, and Kim Seong-hwan and Kim Kyung-man from the Democratic Party of Korea.

Member Seong Il-jong, serving as the party policy committee chairman, worked diligently on policy development for SMEs and small business owners. He proposed the delivery price linkage system as a party policy and contributed to enhancing the competitiveness of small automobile parts manufacturers by promoting the activation of the alternative parts certification system through amendments to the Automobile Management Act. He is also pushing for the abolition of industry restrictions for prestigious long-established companies and the relaxation of business maintenance periods.

Member Kim Yong-pan, serving as a member of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee, made efforts to reflect the field opinions of the SME sector. He introduced a new exemption clause for administrative sanctions on karaoke business operators due to unconfirmed adulthood through amendments to the Music Industry Promotion Act. He is also promoting the establishment of grounds for exempting safety certification for elevators certified under group standards.

Member Kim Seong-hwan, serving as the party policy committee chairman and secretary of the National Assembly’s Industry, Trade, Energy, and Venture Businesses Committee, worked on policy development for SMEs and small business owners. He proposed the delivery price linkage system as a party policy and amended the Special Act on Support for SME Workforce to reduce the required continuous service period for beneficiaries of the SME excellent worker support project from 10 years to 5 years. He also established grounds for government cost support for cultural activities and excellent workers to encourage long-term service.

Member Kim Kyung-man, serving as a member of the National Assembly’s Industry, Trade, Energy, and Venture Businesses Committee, worked to revitalize SMEs and cooperatives. Through amendments to the Act on Protection and Support of SME Technology, he laid the foundation for introducing policy insurance to support disputes over SME technology infringement. Amendments to the Small and Medium Enterprise Cooperative Act now allow voting rights and election rights to be exercised electronically during general meetings or board meetings. He also enabled profit-making projects for subscribers of the Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid, establishing a foundation for enhancing subscriber welfare.

Kim Ki-moon, chairman of Kbiz, said, “This year was a year in which institutional foundations were established for the activation of SMEs and cooperatives, including the legislation of the delivery price linkage system, improvements in corporate succession systems, enactment of ordinances for fostering and supporting local government cooperatives, and implementation of performance-sharing R&D projects.” He added, “Next year, we hope the National Assembly will continue to listen to the voices of small business owners and work on resolving SME issues such as allowing cooperative joint actions, flexibilizing the 52-hour workweek system, and abolishing the foreign workforce quota system.”

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