On the 14th, Lee Byeong-gweon, a policy committee expert of the Democratic Party of Korea who previously served at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), was appointed as the newly created second vice minister in charge of small business at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS).
President Lee Jae-myung carried out vice minister-level appointments that day. Presidential Office Spokesperson Kim Nam-joon said of the new second vice minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), Lee Byeong-gweon, "We highly evaluated his expertise in small business policy and his excellent ability to execute work, as he has formulated various policies to expand sales channels for small businesses and to protect neighborhood commercial districts."
The new second vice minister is regarded as an expert on small and medium-sized enterprises and small businesses with a background as a career bureaucrat. He is also evaluated as having a rational, field-focused work style and outstanding communication skills.
Born in 1968, he graduated from Gwangju Dongsin High School and Yonsei University with a degree in economics. He earned a master's in economics from the University of Colorado and a doctorate in information management from Hoseo University. He entered public service through the 39th administrative exam. He served as head of Venture Investment Division, Startup Promotion Division, Public Procurement and Market Access Division, Production Innovation Policy Division, and Small Business Policy Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), and as head of the Seoul Regional Office of the MSS.
The government created a second vice minister position dedicated to small businesses at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) with the passage of the Government Organization Act amendment on the 9th. The second vice minister is tasked with addressing the difficulties of small business owners facing the "era of 1 million self-employed closures a year." The role includes: ▲ establishing small business policies ▲ promoting startups and supporting and fostering efforts such as securing sales channels ▲ promoting win-win cooperation and providing protection such as closure and restart support ▲ supporting the stabilization of small business management.
The new second vice minister said, "I will do my utmost to alleviate, even a little, the management difficulties experienced on the ground and the hardships of small business owners in an era of polarization, and to build a vibrant livelihood scene."
Meanwhile, the second vice minister post at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) had been associated with In Tae-yeon, former presidential secretary for self-employed affairs. However, as he became known as the brother-in-law of Kim Ou-joon, controversy arose over a so-called "reward appointment."