[2025 Audit] "1.6 Billion Won Invested Yet Still a Failure"... SEMAS Youth Mall Project Faces Intense Criticism

Kim Sungwon and Oh Sehee: "The Policy Must Be Redesigned from the Ground Up"
Chairman Park Sunghyo: "Strengthening Data-Driven Management"

During the National Assembly audit of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the "Youth Mall Project" promoted by the Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS) came under scrutiny for its lackluster performance. Despite being a flagship youth entrepreneurship support program with several hundred billion won invested, there is significant controversy over its effectiveness, as nearly half of the stores have closed down.

On October 23, at the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprise and Venture Business Committee hearing held in Yeouido, Seoul, Kim Sungwon, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, stated, "They poured 160 billion won to increase the number of young entrepreneurs by just one, yet half of the businesses have shut down. Financial support was provided, but there was too much negligence in managing the project."

Park Sung-hyo, Chairman of the Small Enterprise and Market Service, is reporting on business operations at the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprise and Venture Business Committee hearing on the Small and Medium Business Corporation and the Small Enterprise and Market Service held in Yeouido, Seoul on the 23rd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

According to SEMAS, a total of 43 Youth Malls were established between 2016 and 2022, but 8 of them have closed. Out of 578 stores that opened in these malls, 264 have gone out of business, resulting in a closure rate of 45.6%.

Kim pointed out, "Half of the businesses in Youth Malls are restaurants. By filling an already saturated food service market with the same type of businesses, competition has intensified and closures have become inevitable. The survival rates at the one-year, three-year, and five-year marks for each Youth Mall should be made public and tracked. Instead of maintaining a high proportion of food service businesses, the focus should shift to manufacturing and workshop-type businesses."

In response to Kim's question about whether this year's budget includes further support for revitalizing Youth Malls, Park Sunghyo, Chairman of SEMAS, replied, "The 1.37 billion won budget for next year is intended to support existing operations, not to fund new projects."

Oh Sehee, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, also criticized the Youth Mall Project as a structural failure. Oh stated, "Since the project is carried out without assessing on-site feasibility, closures are inevitable. The low application rate from local governments is also due to evaluation criteria that do not reflect reality. Because of formal indicators such as vacancy rates and merchant association activities, commercial districts that truly need revitalization find it difficult to receive support."

Chairman Park said, "I fully agree with the points raised by the lawmakers and will reflect them in the ongoing management and maintenance of the Youth Mall Project."

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