![Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young delivers remarks at the 10th plenary session of the regular National Assembly session. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/10/06/rcv.YNA.20261001.PYH2026100118910001300_P1.jpg)
MBK Chairman Kim Byung-ju skips hearing as Homeplus blame game looms
Onuri voucher spending 73.7% concentrated among top 10% of merchants; fraudulent circulation also under scrutiny
Youth startup academy reversal, tech theft response and policy fund management round out agenda
Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young will face her first national audit since taking office on Wednesday, with a broad range of the ministry's core policies under scrutiny — from skewed usage and fraudulent circulation of Onuri traditional-market vouchers to a reversed decision on a youth startup academy and the government's response to technology theft by large companies. The hearing is also expected to feature a clash over responsibility for the Homeplus crisis, after MBK Partners Chairman Kim Byung-ju submitted a notice of absence despite being called as a witness.
The National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee will conduct its national audit of the ministry on Wednesday, according to the National Assembly and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It will be Lee's first audit appearance as minister. Having previously served as a lawmaker on the same committee — where she questioned government officials — Lee will now sit on the other side of the table as the head of the agency under review.
One of the most prominent issues is the Onuri voucher program. An analysis of ministry and Korea SMEs and Startups Agency data by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jang Cheol-min found that 73.7 percent of the 3.34 trillion won ($2.45 billion) in Onuri voucher transactions recorded from January through August this year — or 2.46 trillion won — was concentrated among the top 10 percent of affiliated merchants by transaction volume. The top 1 percent, comprising 2,259 merchants, alone accounted for 1.25 trillion won, or 37.3 percent of the total.
Concentration in specific business sectors is also expected to come up at the hearing. Of the top 10 merchants by transaction volume from January through August this year, five were pharmaceutical retailers, with combined transactions of 72.7 billion won. A single pharmacy in Seoul ranked first in transactions in the first half of this year, recording 26 billion won in voucher usage. Critics say that while the number of affiliated merchants has grown significantly, spending concentrated in a handful of stores raises questions about whether the program is fulfilling its stated purpose of supporting neighborhood commerce.
Recovery of funds following fraudulent circulation is another flashpoint. An investigation into Onuri voucher fraud in the second half of last year identified 117 violations and ordered 11 merchants to repay a combined 4.04 billion won — but actual payments received amounted to only 533 million won, leaving 86.8 percent of the ordered repayments unpaid.
The Homeplus crisis is also expected to dominate the hearing. The committee had called MBK Partners Chairman Kim Byung-ju as a witness, but Kim submitted a notice of absence to the National Assembly. He is understood to have explained that he does not involve himself in the management of individual portfolio companies and that Homeplus is currently being operated by a court-appointed administrator under judicial supervision. Homeplus CEO and administrator Cho Ju-yeon has been proposed as an alternative witness.
The effectiveness of government support measures will also face scrutiny. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups set aside 140 billion won in policy funds to support suppliers and vendors affected by the Homeplus situation, but disbursements as of last month stood at only around 30 billion won. Lawmakers are expected to probe why affected businesses have not been able to access the funds and whether the eligibility conditions are appropriate.
The Youth Startup Academy — known in Korean as Cheongchangsa — is another point of contention. The ministry had initially considered effectively shutting down the program by redirecting its budget in the 2027 fiscal year proposal toward a new initiative called the Re-challenge Success Academy.
However, after pushback from startup companies, Lee recently said she had decided to "find a way to keep it going without abolishing it," adding that the alumni network and other intangible assets of the program hold "value that cannot be measured in money." Keeping the program alive will require approval through the National Assembly's budget review process and consultations with the Ministry of Planning and Budget, so lawmakers are expected to press Lee on how the abolition was considered in the first place and what prompted the policy reversal.
Technology theft targeting small and medium-sized enterprises is also high on the agenda. The misappropriation of SME technologies and ideas by large or mid-sized companies during supply or joint-development arrangements has been a recurring topic at national audits for years, but affected companies have long complained that proving violations and obtaining redress takes far too long. While the ministry operates a technology infringement reporting system, a dispute mediation mechanism and a technology protection support program, calls are growing for stronger practical remedies for victims.
Post-disbursement management of policy funds is another likely focus. A review by the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency of improper use of policy funds last year found 40 companies that had leased out business premises purchased with policy funds to generate rental income. Those companies had received a combined 87.25 billion won in policy funds. Twenty-five of the 40 were also found to have received support through other Ministry of SMEs and Startups programs, raising questions about whether sanctions information is being adequately shared among the ministry's affiliated agencies.
Also expected to draw questions is the growth in outstanding policy loans to marginal companies through the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, which reached 1.01 trillion won as of August this year — a 95.3 percent increase from 514.7 billion won in 2021. Lawmakers are expected to examine whether policy financing is genuinely helping viable companies recover or is instead being used to prop up firms that should be restructured.
hong@heraldcorp.com
