Regulatory support unit launches with five private experts
440 corporate grievances identified last year, 115 resolved, saving firms 20 billion won
Legal, labor and export expertise added to strengthen follow-through on regulatory reform
Korea Industrial Complex Corp. has launched a dedicated support unit staffed by private-sector experts to help companies in industrial complexes navigate regulatory and operational hurdles. With 351 corporate grievances already filed through September this year, the unit aims to bolster the effectiveness of regulatory reform by adding legal, labor and export expertise to the existing field-based system for identifying problem regulations.
The corporation held a launch ceremony for the Industrial Site Regulatory Rationalization Support Unit at its North Gyeongsang Province regional office on Friday. The unit comprises five private-sector specialists covering law and labor, finance, exports and supply chains, with the corporation serving as the coordinating secretariat. Participants include attorney Shin Jun-sun of law firm Sun, labor consultant Kim Ye-ji of Nammyeong Labor Law Firm, and Lee Su-yeon, chief executive of Market Balance, covering the export field.
The corporation has long collected regulatory improvement requests from tenant companies through its Corporate Grievance Resolution Supporters network across 13 regional offices nationwide. Last year, it identified 440 regulations and grievances spanning corporate activities including location, infrastructure and technology development. Of those, 115 were resolved — 33 through amendments to laws and systems, and 82 through recommendations to relevant agencies.
The new unit will prioritize issues identified in the field based on their urgency and potential impact. Private-sector experts will then review whether applicable laws and regulations are being applied appropriately, assess the burden on companies and examine the feasibility of improvements before proposing specific remedies.
Issues the corporation can address on its own will be handled directly, while matters requiring legislative changes or cooperation from other agencies will be referred to related ministries and relevant bodies. The unit will also establish a system to continuously monitor the progress of consultations and track the outcomes of any measures taken.
At the launch ceremony, newly appointed expert committee members received their letters of appointment and were briefed on the unit's operating direction. A regulatory innovation forum linked to the Industrial Convergence Promotion Ombudsman followed, gathering opinions from tenant companies and local government officials in the Gumi area. About 30 people attended, including the ombudsman, tenant company representatives, Gumi city officials and the unit's expert committee members.
Kong Sung-ho, head of the corporate growth division at Korea Industrial Complex Corp., said it was important that grievances identified in the field lead to actual regulatory improvements rather than stopping at mere suggestions. "We will combine the expertise of private-sector specialists with the corporation's on-the-ground support capabilities to deliver tangible regulatory reform results that companies can feel," he said.
hong@heraldcorp.com
