Lee So-young, the nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups, emphasized that "the role of small and medium-sized enterprises and startups in the national growth strategy must be specified and clearly defined."

Meeting with reporters after visiting the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, this morning (the 4th), Nominee Lee stated, "If appointed as the Minister of SMEs and Startups, I will actively participate to further specify and outline the roles of small businesses within the three major mega-projects, seven seeds, and the 5-pole 3-special growth engine strategies."

In response to criticisms regarding a lack of expertise due to not sponsoring bills under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) during her tenure as a lawmaker, Lee rebutted, "I believe this is entirely unrelated to whether I have made legislative efforts for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups."

She added, "Laws that actually cause difficulties for and impact small and medium-sized enterprises and startups are not limited to those under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, but are scattered across all government ministries."

She also cited an example of sponsoring and passing a bill to alleviate the burden faced by small businesses in intellectual property disputes, explaining that she has engaged in legislative activities related to small businesses even outside the direct jurisdiction of the MSS.

She went on to evaluate her own understanding of the MSS's budgetary projects as higher than that of other lawmakers, noting that she directly reviewed the ministry's budget projects and led both reductions and increases while serving as the ruling party's secretary for the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.

Noting that the Korea Federation of SMEs, the Venture Enterprise Association, and startup and small business organizations have expressed welcome stances regarding her nomination, Lee asked, "Wouldn't the evaluations of the direct beneficiaries and parties concerned with MSS policies be more important?"

Regarding regulatory reform, she stated, "We should keep necessary regulations while rationalizing unnecessary and unreasonable ones," adding, "A certain level of protection and rational regulation is needed in the relationships between large corporations and small businesses, as well as between large corporations and small merchants."

However, she explained that in the venture business sector, regulations sometimes fundamentally block attempts at new services, products, and business ventures, and improving this is the core of the regulatory reform she has been emphasizing.

Nominee Lee plans to visit the Korea Small Business Federation and the venture and startup sectors next week to listen further to opinions from the field.

(Photo: Yonhap News)