Lee So-young, the nominee for Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups, announced plans to shift the paradigm for policies affecting small businesses and self-employed individuals to enhance industrial competitiveness. She aims to implement a comprehensive roadmap to reform the chronic high-cost structure faced by small business owners.
During her opening remarks at the confirmation hearing held on the 15th by the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, and Energy Committee, Lee stated, "Eight out of ten workers in South Korea are employed by small and medium enterprises, and there are 8.11 million small business owners facing a critical juncture due to high interest rates, inflation, changes in distribution structures, and the transition to AI. I will be a minister who prepares for the future together, beyond just providing support to address immediate difficulties."
Her first key policy initiative is to open a new era of national entrepreneurship through bold regulatory rationalization. She emphasized, "New challenges must be welcomed for growth. If there are regulations that hinder corporate challenges, I will seek solutions from the perspective of businesses and citizens, regardless of the relevant ministries. If necessary, I will persuade and communicate directly with other ministers."
Lee also expressed her commitment to reforming the capital market, vowing to restore trust in the KOSDAQ market, which is essential for the growth of venture and small businesses, and to represent their voices to facilitate capital inflow.
She promised to support the connection with large national projects and the transition to new technologies. Lee stated, "We must specify the concrete roles and special provisions for small businesses from the planning stages of the three major national mega-projects, including semiconductors and AI data centers, as well as the five-polar three-special growth engine strategy. I will significantly increase support for research and development (R&D) and facility transitions to respond to AI transitions in small manufacturing sites and global carbon regulations such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)."
Regarding small business owners and the self-employed, she emphasized the need for 'structural cost reform.' Lee remarked, "Merely providing subsidies to help them endure temporarily is insufficient. I will systematically quantify unsustainable expenditure burdens such as rent, interest, delivery app fees, and advertising costs, and establish a 'cost structure improvement roadmap' to reduce these burdens."
On delivery app policies, she stated, "I will create new competitiveness and alternatives that consumers can actually choose." She also proposed strengthening the social safety net by expanding health care costs for self-employed individuals, as well as enhancing industrial accident and employment insurance, and supporting re-challenges after business closures.
Lee concluded, "It is unfair to demand innovation while leaving the environment for self-employed individuals, who work hard yet see no returns, unchanged. I will prove the government's responsibility to create an environment where innovation can be pursued and where efforts yield results."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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