Lee Young, Who Traveled 100,000 km in a Year, Says "Will Create Cyber Small and Medium Business Administration and Venture Valley"

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, 1st Anniversary Press Conference
Goal to Achieve 50% Contribution of SMEs to Sales and Exports
Regulatory Reform Efforts... Resolving Long-standing Issues of SMEs and Venture Industry

Minister Lee Young, Ministry of SMEs and Startups [Photo by Yonhap News]

Marking his first anniversary in office, Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, "We will establish a 'Startup Korea Comprehensive Plan' that includes creating a world-class startup environment."

Minister Lee made this remark during a press briefing where he announced the major policy achievements of the past year and explained future priority tasks.

◆ "Creating a Cyber SME Agency and Venture Valley" = At the briefing held on the 15th at the Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, he announced, "We will release a comprehensive inter-ministerial venture and startup plan before June ends."

Introducing part of the plan, he said, "There are currently 17 regional SME agencies nationwide, and we plan to create the 18th SME agency in cyberspace. The 18th SME agency will be a digital SME agency."

He added, "We will create a venture valley online where even foreign nationals can reside," and previewed, "We have prepared new policies to supplement the shortcomings of existing venture and startup policies and support the new economic system."

The goal for SME policy is the 'SMEs and Ventures 50+' vision, aiming for SMEs to contribute more than 50% each to exports and sales in our economy. Currently, these figures remain in the 40% range.

To tackle regulatory obstacles hindering business growth, the plan includes establishing 'Global Innovation Zones' and conducting a nationwide 'Regulatory Reform Roadshow' to resolve chronic regulations. The first topic of the roadshow will focus on the medical and bio sectors, which are currently in conflict over the allowance of non-face-to-face medical services.

Additionally, Minister Lee shared plans to reform the Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid system, unify scattered technology protection agencies across ministries, and ensure fair pricing for software.

◆ Overcoming the Crisis of Small Business Owners... Resolving Industry Long-Standing Issues = At the beginning of his tenure, Minister Lee focused on overcoming the management crisis of small business owners caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. From the day after the supplementary budget was passed, loss compensation payments began, disbursing 17.3 trillion won?75% of the budget?within two days. Ultimately, a total of 23 trillion won in loss compensation was provided to 3.73 million businesses.

The 'Together Festival' to stimulate domestic demand was expanded nationwide from three times a year, and the 'Hey Itaewon' project is underway to revitalize the Itaewon commercial district.

The greatest achievements include realizing the long-awaited delivery price linkage system, which the SME sector has desired for 14 years, and the introduction of multiple voting rights, a long-standing wish of the venture industry.

Previously, even when raw material prices surged, delivery prices remained unchanged, forcing SMEs to bear the burden. The delivery price linkage system was first discussed in 2008 but was repeatedly shelved due to disagreements over excessive government intervention in private contracts.

In June last year, Minister Lee formed the 'Public-Private Joint Delivery Price Linkage Task Force' and, through consultations with the National Assembly, large and small businesses, and related ministries, succeeded in legalizing the system in December.

Multiple voting rights prevent the dilution of founders' shares and instability in management when venture companies receive large-scale equity investments.

Some opposition lawmakers opposed the bill over concerns about system abuse, and the bill was stalled four times in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, delaying progress. As a former proportional representative of the People Power Party, Minister Lee personally persuaded lawmakers, resulting in the bill passing the National Assembly last month, three years after its proposal.

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is delivering a greeting at the "Itaewon Commercial District One-Stop Support Center On-Site Meeting" held on February 3rd at Yongsan District Office in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

◆ Running 100,000 km across 5 countries... "Willing to Collaborate Even with Aliens" = As a veteran venture entrepreneur who has led venture companies for 20 years, he also showed a willingness to take the 'road less traveled.' To support SMEs and ventures in exploring overseas markets, he personally visited various parts of the world.

In September, he agreed to establish a global fund worth $220 million in New York, USA, and last month in Boston, he signed a memorandum of understanding with Lab Central, bringing good news to the stagnant bio and health industries. In the Middle East, rich in 'oil money,' he opened the first Global Business Center (GBC) in Dubai and achieved outcomes such as securing free GBC space from the Saudi government.

The private sector responded to the government's efforts. At CES 2023 in January, 111 Korean startups and ventures received innovation awards, nearly quadrupling from 30 companies three years ago. In March, at BIBAN 2023, the largest startup event in the Middle East, Korean startups achieved first and second place consecutively.

Over the past year, Minister Lee traveled to five countries eight times, covering a total distance exceeding 100,000 km. This is equivalent to traveling back and forth between Seoul and Busan?over 400 km?125 times.

Minister Lee said, "I am willing to collaborate even with aliens if it benefits companies," and added, "I will achieve results overseas in step with President Yoon Seok-yeol, who has taken on the role of 'Korea's first sales representative' to support SME exports."

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