SMEs minister speaks at National Assembly audit

Rent, labor, interest, platform fees to be tracked as indicators

New startup-venture deregulation committee to be established

Tougher penalties for technology theft

Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young. [Yonhap]
Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young. [Yonhap]

Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young said Wednesday the government will quantify the cost burdens facing small business owners — including rent, labor costs, interest payments and platform fees — into objective indicators and monitor them on an ongoing basis. She also announced plans to establish a dedicated committee to remove regulatory barriers blocking startups and venture companies from entering the market.

Lee made the remarks in her opening statement at the National Assembly's national audit of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, held Wednesday morning before the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee. "We will help small business owners recover and regain vitality," she said. "We will quantify the cost burdens weighing on their shoulders into objective indicators and manage them continuously."

"While exports are performing well and domestic demand is showing some signs of improvement, external uncertainties persist — including rising global oil prices driven by the war in the Middle East and US tariffs, as well as instability in global supply chains," Lee said. "We will focus all our policy capabilities on easing difficulties on the ground and spreading the warmth of growth."

As an immediate step, the ministry will restructure its policy financing to expand support for vulnerable business operators. It plans to broaden employment insurance premium subsidies for the self-employed and introduce new support for industrial accident insurance premiums and healthcare. A new policy insurance program will also be launched to cover the risk of temporary or permanent closure for young startup owners.

In the startup and venture sector, the ministry will push to accelerate regulatory reform. It plans to establish a new startup-venture regulatory innovation committee, working alongside relevant industry associations to identify areas for regulatory improvement and seek solutions from the perspective of businesses and the public.

"We will make sure that new attempts are not blocked by regulatory walls before they even begin," Lee said.

Support for startups will also be expanded. The ministry plans to double the scale of support under the second round of its "Everyone's Startup" project and designate six additional startup cities, taking into account the five-pole, three-special zone framework and regional growth engine industries. It also intends to pool private capital — including from pension funds — around the Fund of Funds and extend the fund's lifespan to create a stable venture investment environment.

The ministry will also work to strengthen the growth engines of small and medium-sized enterprises. It plans to support SME participation from the design stage of national strategic industries and large-scale projects, and provide long-term, bundled intensive support to innovative companies in emerging growth sectors such as new security, pharmaceutical biotech and climate technology.

"The fruits of national investment and innovation must flow not only to large conglomerates but throughout the entire industrial ecosystem," Lee said.

To expand SME exports, the ministry plans to support overseas expansion of promising products in beauty, food and fashion driven by K-culture, and to develop export roadmaps tailored to each stage of a company's growth. It will also provide support covering diagnosis, equipment transition and commercialization to help companies adapt to AI transformation and carbon neutrality requirements.

The ministry will also tighten measures to stamp out technology theft. It plans to strengthen administrative sanctions against technology theft and introduce large-scale penalty surcharges. The scope of mutual cooperation will be expanded through legislation on platform-sector cooperation and the introduction of a mutual finance index assessment for financial institutions.

Lee cited key policy achievements this year, including the allocation of about 3.68 trillion won ($2.74 billion) to support low-interest loans for small business owners, fixed-cost subsidies of up to 250,000 won per small business operator, and the selection of a 1.8 trillion won venture fund. She added that new venture investment in the first half of this year reached a record 8.9 trillion won.

Lee added that she would "faithfully reflect the observations and policy alternatives raised during this national audit in the process of formulating and implementing future policy."


boo@heraldcorp.com