Transition Team Considers Establishing Presidential Direct Cooperation Committee for Win-Win Cooperation

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is presiding over the transition committee secretariat meeting at the 20th Presidential Transition Committee in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 5th. Photo by Transition Committee Press Corps

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[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] The Presidential Transition Committee is considering the establishment of a Presidential Office-affiliated Win-Win Committee. This is based on the judgment that a government-wide response is necessary to resolve the deepening polarization between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is analyzed that the next administration's SME policy, which had been delayed due to other policies such as nuclear power generation and real estate, is beginning to take shape.

According to related ministries on the 5th, the Transition Committee is discussing plans to establish a Win-Win Committee directly under the President. The plan is to create a control tower to oversee policies aimed at resolving the polarization between large corporations and SMEs by establishing the Win-Win Committee composed of a minister-level chairman and about 60 members. After finalizing the organizational restructuring plans for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Transition Committee intends to intensify discussions with related ministries on the establishment of the Win-Win Committee.

The Transition Committee's consideration of establishing the Win-Win Committee stems from the widening gap between large corporations and SMEs. In fact, 57.3% of the total domestic operating profit belongs to large corporations, which make up only 0.3% of all companies. SMEs, which account for 99% of all companies, hold only 25% of the share. The average monthly income of workers in large corporations and SMEs is 5.29 million KRW and 2.59 million KRW respectively, more than double.

The Win-Win Committee is an issue that President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol also agrees with. Earlier in February this year, President-elect Yoon visited the Korea Federation of SMEs, one of the five major economic organizations, and promised to establish the Win-Win Committee. In response, the Korea Federation of SMEs submitted a policy proposal including plans for the establishment of the Win-Win Committee to the Transition Committee on the 29th of last month. The Federation, which repeatedly emphasized the establishment of the Win-Win Committee to President-elect Yoon, also listed it as the 'number one policy' in the proposal.

Professor Lee Jeonghee of the Department of Economics at Chung-Ang University, who served as president of the Korean Small Business Association, said, “Establishing a Win-Win Committee directly under the President is a government declaration of its intention to actively address SME issues,” adding, “When the Win-Win Committee is launched, it will be necessary to coordinate how to divide roles with the existing Commission for Shared Growth.”

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