Helmet on, factory floor: Minister Lee So-young's hands-on approach to SME policy

Lee visits firms across the Chungcheong region early in her tenure, moderating roundtables herself and pressing officials on timelines and accountability

Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young tours the semiconductor materials production facility at LK Chem in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, on Thursday. [Ministry of SMEs and Startups]

"Who is playing the coordinator role and driving this forward? Is there a year-by-year roadmap in place?"

Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young posed those questions Thursday afternoon at a field roundtable on the "startup city development project" held at KAIST's National NanoFab Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. She had just finished listening to a Daejeon city official's briefing on the project and wanted to know directly who was overseeing the multi-agency initiative and whether a concrete implementation schedule existed.

Lee has made on-site visits a hallmark of her tenure from the start. She launched a two-day tour of the Chungcheong region on Thursday, traveling to Cheonan, Daejeon, Cheongju and Sejong to meet a range of business leaders — from small manufacturers to venture firms and startups.

Helmet on, factory floor: listening and asking in person

Lee began the day at LK Chem, a semiconductor materials company in Cheonan. She donned a helmet and other safety gear to walk through the production facility and research center, observing the manufacturing process firsthand and hearing explanations from company staff. She then attended a roundtable for participants in the ministry's "Jump-Up Program," where she listened to the difficulties businesses were facing.

"Since taking office, I have come to believe that the various projects written in government policy documents can only be truly understood by visiting the sites in person," Lee said.

At the roundtable, Lee took the moderator's seat herself, listening to each participant in turn and asking follow-up questions on the spot. When attendees raised requests, she explained relevant policies and the direction of future support directly. Rather than delivering a prepared opening statement or a one-way policy briefing, she focused on exchanging questions and answers with business leaders to hear their concerns firsthand.

Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young speaks at a field roundtable on the startup city development project at KAIST's National NanoFab Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, on Thursday. [Ministry of SMEs and Startups]

Moderating roundtables herself, Lee puts weight on field communication

Lee carried the same approach into the afternoon in Daejeon. After attending a large forum on revitalizing the regional startup ecosystem, she led the startup city development project roundtable, directly questioning officials on the project's governance structure and future plans, giving participants the floor and guiding the discussion. She did not simply listen to requests — she explained related policies and the direction of support, exchanging views with attendees throughout.

Her decision to moderate the roundtable herself drew attention. The session produced a wide range of opinions, covering difficulties local startups face in attracting investment, the commercialization of public-sector technologies, clinical validation and market access for medical devices, and the cultivation of entrepreneurial talent. Lee listened to each speaker in turn and, where relevant, explained ministry policy and engaged in back-and-forth discussion.

She showed particular interest in a call for long-term funding dedicated to deep tech startups — a suggestion that the existing policy finance framework falls short because the path from technology development to commercialization and investor returns takes years, requiring a different kind of support.

"The fund of funds has limitations in meeting that need," Lee said. "Whether a separate fund or track with a longer patience period is feasible is something I will take back and have the ministry study."

Even after the roundtable ended, Lee continued talking with participants. She held an extended conversation with Hwang Kyung-min, chief executive of VPixs Medical, who had raised the issue of clinical validation and market access for medical device startups, listening to the challenges the company faces on the ground.

After wrapping up the day's visits, Lee said the experience had shifted how she thinks about policy.

"Until now I have understood policy mainly through documents and text, but I believe that to improve existing policies or create better ones, you have to come to the field and understand things properly," she said. "I stepped off the page where 'Jump-Up' was just a printed phrase and gained many insights. Today was also a day for feeling what concerns and needs actually exist in the region around the startup city initiative."

Will the concerns heard in the field translate into actual policy?

The day's visits surfaced specific problems that are difficult to identify from policy documents alone. A semiconductor materials firm cited zoning regulations as a barrier to expanding its production facilities, while a defense industry company raised a shortage of specialized personnel and legal support. Regional startups pointed to institutional constraints in securing investment and navigating the commercialization process.

Lee said she intends to reflect the feedback in policy. "Startups need to be able to change direction and move flexibly as their business develops, but there are cases where they are locked into their original business plan and cannot pursue revised ideas," she said, expressing agreement with the need for greater policy flexibility.

"I will not forget the various challenges I heard in the field today," she added. "I will turn them into follow-up policies."

boo@heraldcorp.com