FSBA Announces Policy Proposals for Next Administration: "Urgent Need for Emergency Support Funds"

Five Major Agendas and 25 Core Tasks Selected
Including Minimum Wage Reform and Establishment of Dedicated Organizations

The Federation of Small Business Associations (FSBA) has selected and announced a list of policy proposals it hopes the next administration will adopt, including the provision of emergency support funds and improvements to the minimum wage system.

(From left) Namsoo Cha, Head of Policy Development Division at the Federation of Small Business Associations, Deokhyun Yoo, Branch Manager of Seoul Small Business Federation, Junghui Lee, Chair of the Policy Advisory Committee at the Federation of Small Business Associations, Chiyoung Song, President of the Federation of Small Business Associations, Youngkyun Choi, President of the Korea Outdoor Advertising Association Central Committee, Yujin Jang, President of the Korea Substitute Driving Federation. Photo by Seohee Lee

On April 29, the FSBA announced that it held a press conference at its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, to present its "21st Presidential Election Policy Proposals for Small Business Owners." The FSBA selected and announced more than 110 policy proposals, including five key tasks: overcoming crises, strengthening support and infrastructure, improving laws and systems, establishing a social safety net, and building a foundation for innovative growth. These were further broken down into 25 core tasks and 85 sector-specific tasks.

The FSBA explained that these proposals were the result of several months of intensive research and discussions led by Junghui Lee, Chair of the Policy Advisory Committee (and professor at Chung-Ang University), along with other professors and experts on the committee. Based on these discussions, a preference survey was conducted over six days starting April 17, targeting 1,050 small business owners nationwide.

The survey results showed that small business owners favored policy proposals such as: provision of emergency support funds for small businesses (10 million won); establishment of a dedicated vice minister for small businesses within the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, as well as the creation of a Presidential Special Committee and a Secretary for Small Businesses to strengthen dedicated organizations; establishment of a policy finance institution for small businesses; expansion of the simplified taxation threshold to reduce tax burdens; improvement of the minimum wage system; enactment of a welfare law for small businesses to establish a social safety net; legislation for special support of small business workforce supply; building a foundation to revitalize local commercial districts; activation of specialized support for micro-enterprises; and construction of a small business association hall. In particular, for the improvement of laws and systems, the "improvement of the minimum wage system" was highlighted as a core issue, with demands for differentiated application of the minimum wage by industry and the abolition of paid weekly holiday allowances.

Furthermore, 68.6% of all small business respondents said that "the political sector is not properly reflecting the situation of small businesses in its policies," expressing dissatisfaction with political measures for small business owners. Regarding the intention to vote in the presidential election, 88.1% of respondents said they "intend to vote," demonstrating the high level of interest among small business owners in this election.

The FSBA plans to deliver the announced policy proposals to major presidential campaign teams and other political circles, and intends to unite the power of small business owners through campaigns encouraging them to vote.

Junghui Lee, Chair of the FSBA Policy Advisory Committee, who attended the press conference, said, "As these policy proposals were selected through in-depth discussions, I hope the next administration will implement them one by one, laying the foundation for small business owners to overcome crises and achieve innovative growth."

Chiyoung Song, President of the FSBA, emphasized, "With one million business closures, the loss of one million businesses is equivalent to a social cost of 100 trillion won. For small business owners who are truly facing a national crisis, this presidential election must become a 'small business election' as the top priority."

Yujin Jang, President of the Korea Substitute Driving Federation, stated, "With the expansion of industrial accident insurance coverage for special types of employment, most substitute drivers are spending 40% of their income on industrial accident insurance. Until an accurate fact-finding survey is conducted, please suspend the collection of insurance contributions from substitute drivers."

Deokhyun Yoo, Branch Manager of the Seoul Small Business Federation, said, "Since January, the installation of barrier-free kiosks has been mandatory at small business sites. Small business owners who could not afford the expensive kiosks are now facing fines of up to 30 million won. Some introduced kiosks to reduce labor costs, only to suddenly be treated as lawbreakers. Please revise the relevant laws to protect these small business owners."

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