Lawmakers call for merger to fix mismanagement at public home shopping network and consolidate SME sales support

Lee Tae-sik, head of Korea SME and Startups Distribution Agency, backs integration plan

The National Assembly's Committee on Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups holds its comprehensive national audit on Friday. [Yonhap]
The National Assembly's Committee on Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups holds its comprehensive national audit on Friday. [Yonhap]

The mismanagement of the public home shopping network drew fire again at the National Assembly's national audit, with lawmakers calling for a merger between the Korea SME and Startups Distribution Agency and the public home shopping operator to fix governance problems and consolidate sales support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

At the comprehensive national audit of the Assembly's Committee on Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups on Friday, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Won-i cited audit findings raised against the public home shopping network from 2021 through this year, saying mismanagement problems had been raised repeatedly.

Kim asked Lee Tae-sik, head of the Korea SME and Startups Distribution Agency, whether the planned merger was intended to overcome the network's management failures while unifying the agency's sales policy functions with the network's support functions to provide one-stop sales assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises. Lee said it was.

Kim then asked whether the merged entity planned to drive business growth by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises across the full cycle — from marketing and sales through performance management. Lee said it did.

The audit framed the merger's main rationale as fixing the public home shopping network's management problems and streamlining the sales support system for small and medium-sized enterprises. The plan envisions linking the agency's sales policy functions with the network's sales support capabilities to create a system under which small and medium-sized enterprises can receive step-by-step assistance covering marketing, sales and performance management.

Kim urged Lee to make a more active case for the merger to the National Assembly.

"I hope you will speak up more actively on these issues and work to persuade people," Kim said. "Even after the national audit is over, I hope you will go around to lawmakers and actively explain this matter."


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