A unified evaluation system that goes beyond sales and employment to reflect the social and cultural value of small business owners is expected to be established this year. It is an attempt to overcome the limitation that policy design and implementation for small business owners have leaned on a few economic indicators such as sales size or number of employees. This is the first attempt to quantify the social value of small business owners and reflect it in policy.
According to the small business sector on the 7th, the Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS) has begun to define the concept of "ecological value of small business owners," which integrates economic, social, and cultural values, and to build a quantification model. It plans to develop an evaluation system and indicators that can measure this objectively.
In addition, it plans to identify the need for government support and prepare analytical methods using statistics and policy data. This has the effect of redefining small business owners as community-based infrastructure and could influence future policy standards and budget allocation methods.
The project is known to have been a key task overseen by In Tae-yeon, SEMAS chair, since taking office. It started from the notion that small business owners should be redefined not as microenterprises but as "social infrastructure" that supports the economy and community.
Since taking office in Jan., Chair In has also said, "We should not leave the value of small business owners solely to economic utility; social value must go with it," noting the view that "the reason visitors from abroad can walk alone at night is because small business owners create a safety net in commercial districts."
This is the first attempt in Korea to quantify the social value of small business owners and use it as a policy decision criterion. Although the work was initially expected to proceed centered on researchers within SEMAS, it was decided to carry out the project with an external specialized institution.
Given the nature of quantifying social value, analytical capabilities across multiple fields such as tourism, sociology, and regional economics are required, and because the method includes nonmarket domains such as maintenance of local communities and tourism appeal, it is also a new policy approach. It is interpreted as reflecting the judgment that there are limits to using only internal research staff.
However, some note that the social and cultural value of small business owners includes many areas that are not easy to quantify, and interpretations may differ depending on which values are emphasized. This is because qualitative elements such as maintaining local communities and shaping culture account for a large share, and results can vary depending on the criteria and methodology.
The fact that it is difficult to compare industry- and region-specific characteristics by the same standard is also cited as a challenge. In particular, values such as public safety, community, and culture are not easy to prove with clear causality, raising the possibility of overinterpretation.
A SEMAS official said, "I understand that we plan to prepare a venue to announce related details in the future and to explain the significance and how we will address limitations."