Song Chi-young, President of the Small Business Federation, "We Will Rebuild the Collapsed Foundation"

Policy Task 'Resolving High-Cost Structure for Small Business Owners' Proposed
Detailed Tasks Selected Including New Electricity Rate System for Small Business Owners

Song Chi-young, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises, emphasized on the 31st that “just as 'a strong root leads to flourishing branches,' we will rebuild the collapsed foundation with the spirit of 근고지영 (根固枝榮).”

Song Chi-young, president of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise, is delivering an inaugural speech at the '10th Anniversary Ceremony of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise and the 5th President Inauguration Ceremony' held at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Seoul on the 12th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

In his New Year's address, Chairman Song stated, “All economic actors including the government, businesses, and the public must unite and work together to overcome the crisis faced by micro enterprises, which are the backbone of our economy and the source of employment. The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises will serve as the driving force in overcoming this crisis.”

He added, “Recently, political uncertainty has dampened consumer sentiment. Moreover, experts are increasingly forecasting that the Korean economy will not only face a temporary downturn but also a prolonged and internalized recession, which is heightening concerns among economic participants. Although this year inevitably begins with a bleak outlook, the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises is determined to maintain close communication across government ministries and emphasize bipartisan political cooperation for 'saving micro enterprises' through meetings with the Speaker of the National Assembly and leaders of major political parties during this emergency economic phase.”

Chairman Song presented ‘resolving the high-cost structure of micro enterprises’ as the policy task for the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises next year. Specifically, he selected five detailed tasks: ‘introducing sector-specific minimum wage application,’ ‘opposing the expansion of the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees,’ ‘enacting online platform legislation,’ ‘establishing a dedicated electricity tariff system for micro enterprises,’ and ‘founding a specialized bank exclusively for micro enterprises.’

Regarding this, he said, “We will do our utmost to block the political attempt to expand the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees, which threatens the very foundation of micro enterprises, and fundamentally reform the current minimum wage system, which has become a system that distorts the management environment and hampers growth of micro enterprises in the era of a 10,000 KRW minimum wage starting in 2025.”

Furthermore, Chairman Song stated, “We will respond to various government policies aimed at economic stimulus so that micro enterprises receive tangible benefits, enabling rapid consumption promotion in the private sector. Starting next year, with the designation as a new public-related organization, we will transform into a transparent and fair organization that meets the expectations and standards of the public and industry, firmly establishing ourselves as the sole legally recognized economic organization representing micro enterprises and a practical ‘policy hub for micro enterprises.’”

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