The Small and Medium Business Ombudsman uncovered a total of 5,344 cases of corporate regulatory difficulties last year and achieved improvements in 1,325 of them. The ombudsman also carried out 68 on-site activities, including field meetings and group visits.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the ombudsman said on the 5th they reported the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman's 2025 activity results, which include these details, to the Regulatory Reform Commitee, the Cabinet meeting, and the National Assembly.
To lead regulatory improvements at ministries, local governments, and public institutions, the ombudsman focused on three priorities: improving long-unresolved core regulations; rationalizing livelihood- and field-related regulatory difficulties; and conducting comprehensive, field-centered cleanups of local regulations.
To resolve long-unresolved regulatory difficulties, a dedicated team was established, and 14 tasks with significant ripple effects were selected for in-depth review and expert consultation. Through this, five regulations were resolved, and via two recommendations for core regulatory improvements, the ombudsman led 75 out of 76 institutions to improve their regulations.
In cooperation with the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the ombudsman prepared measures to improve livelihood regulations for small and medium corporations and small merchants, and improved 16 regulations by industry and business type, including allowing foreign workers to move between business sites across regions. Centered on three areas—startups and new industries, chronic regulations, and regulations hidden in administrative rules—the ombudsman also established a total of 79 measures to rationalize on-site regulatory difficulties for small and medium corporations.
The ombudsman overhauled 21 lifestyle-related siting regulations, such as special cases for building-to-land ratio in market maintenance zones and restrictions on locations of car dealership showrooms, as well as 384 autonomous regulations. The ombudsman also conducted a full overhaul of 27 water and sewage-related regulations, including expanding the scope of factories eligible for exemption from cost-burden charges and rationalizing criteria for imposing fees, along with 400 autonomous regulations.
Choi Seung-jae, the ombudsman, said, "As a professional institution for improving corporate on-site regulations, we will further strengthen the role of the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman," adding, "We will continue to identify field-centered regulatory difficulties and intensively improve hidden regulations within public institutions to increase the sense of improvement at corporate sites."