The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will build a cooperation system with private platforms to root out so-called "illegal brokers" who target policy funds.
Illegal brokers are entities that engage in improper acts such as demanding excessive success fees or impersonating institutions while claiming they will help recipients obtain government policy funds or research and development (R&D) grants.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups held the third meeting of the "task force to resolve third-party improper intervention" on the 6th at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, chaired by First Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok.
The task force is led by Vice Minister Noh as Head of Team and was created to seek a government-level response to third-party improper intervention. At the previous meeting, it decided to carry out tasks such as a fact-finding survey, a report-and-reward program, and an immunity program for voluntary reporters.
At this meeting, the participants discussed a cooperation framework with the private platforms "Soongo" and "Kmong," which introduce and connect experts, to prevent the involvement of illegal brokers.
Key cooperation tasks among the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), participating public institutions in the task force, and private platforms include: ▲ displaying warnings about third-party improper intervention (illegal brokers) on private platforms ▲ strengthening monitoring and cooperating to provide information on posts related to government support policies such as policy funds ▲ establishing hotlines and conducting joint publicity between public institutions participating in the task force and private platforms.
It also established measures to improve the delivery system so that small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners can easily use support programs. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to reduce application documents by 50% through inter-ministerial collaboration by enabling automatic submission of administrative documents and converting signed documents online, easing the paperwork burden.
It will also establish a "unified support platform for small and medium-sized enterprises" that aggregates and informs users about support programs in one place. Starting in the second half of this year, it will also promote AI-based assistance for drafting basic components of business plans.
To prevent third-party improper intervention in R&D and startup support programs, participants also discussed expanding TIPS R&D, which supports R&D for corporations invested in by private investment institutions. Opinions were also raised that it is necessary to introduce a competency verification stage for prospective entrepreneurs to prevent external interference and to prepare institutional mechanisms to ensure the accountability of evaluators.
First Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said, "The MSS will push forward major policies such as the fact-finding survey, the report-and-reward program, and the immunity program introduced to resolve third-party improper intervention without setbacks and with speed," adding, "We will also improve the delivery system so that small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners can conveniently use support programs."