The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises said on 22nd that it "expects positive deliberation in the National Assembly" on the Partial Amendment to the Small and Medium Enterprise Cooperatives Act, proposed by lawmaker Kim Dong-a, adding that it "hopes it will pass to ensure the efficient operation of Yellow Umbrella."
The amendment excludes the Yellow Umbrella program from the application of the Act on the Implementation of Advertisements by Government Agencies and Public Corporations (Government Advertising Act).
Under the current Government Advertising Act, when state agencies, local governments, public institutions, or corporations established under special laws place paid notices such as advertising and public relations, they must go through the Korea Press Foundation (KPF), and the foundation collects a 10% commission. Accordingly, KBIZ, established under the Small and Medium Enterprise Cooperatives Act, is also subject to the law.
However, KBIZ has taken an "opposed" position on applying the Government Advertising Act to the Yellow Umbrella program, saying that "unlike state and public institutions, if the autonomy to select media outlets is restricted and commissions are collected even for the Yellow Umbrella program, which is operated solely with private funds without government subsidies, there is a concern that increased project costs will harm subscribers."
Lee Chang-ho, head of the mutual aid business division at KBIZ, said, "The fact that the cumulative number of Yellow Umbrella subscribers has reached 3.16 million shows that promotional activities are proceeding smoothly as a privately operated social safety net system," adding, "We plan to do our best to continue discovering projects that can guide the system more efficiently to small-business and microbusiness subscribers and deliver benefits."
Meanwhile, Yellow Umbrella is a system that KBIZ has operated since 2007 to help small-business and microbusiness owners prepare a lump sum to cope with management crises such as closure or old age. Subscribers are offered an income tax deduction of up to 6 million won, and the cumulative number of subscribers currently stands at 3.16 million.