More than 300 policy proposals were submitted in about 100 days to the "Propose directly to the Minister" channel that the Ministry of SMEs and Startups opened in Feb. this year. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to reflect some on-the-ground opinions in actual system improvements.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) on the 17th released the operating status and key cases of "Propose directly to the Minister." The channel is a communication outlet that Minister Han Seong-sook of the MSS created by reorganizing the previous "Open Minister's Office" to hear voices from the field directly. Proposals received are sent not to a working-level department but to the Minister's personal work email.
Since operations began on Feb. 2 through May 13, a total of 322 proposals have been received. Not only representatives of small and midsize businesses, microbusiness owners, and startups but also bank industry employees and overseas Koreans residing abroad took part.
According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), Minister Han reads the proposals directly and personally replies to matters that can be answered immediately. If further review is needed, the minister links with the responsible bureaus and divisions to conduct supplementary review.
There have been actual cases of system improvement. Regarding the "Startup for All" project, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) relaxed some requirements so that existing entrepreneurs and overseas Koreans can also apply. For those residing abroad, the ministry improved the process to allow applications after identity verification via email and contact information, and it plans to introduce IP-based identity authentication in the future.
In the area of policy funds for microbusiness owners, proposals were received calling for fixes to first-come, first-served applications and system instability. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) introduced a policy priority evaluation method and revised the system so everyone accessing during the application period can apply.
In response to a proposal calling for expanded support for corporations struggling from the fallout of the Middle East conflict, the government moved to respond by allocating 250 billion won in emergency management stabilization funds through a supplementary budget.
On-the-ground civil complaint–type proposals also came in, such as inquiries about research and development (R&D) programs and requests to improve system inconveniences in the application process for support programs.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) is classifying and managing proposals into five types: ▲ system improvement ▲ policy tasks ▲ on-site communication ▲ corporate publicity ▲ other, and plans to discuss whether to reflect major items in policy through expanded executive meetings, among others.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, "The stories are all different, but I fully feel the sincerity and earnestness contained in each proposal." She added, "I am deeply grateful for the interest and participation you have shown so far, and 'Propose directly to the Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' is always open," and "I ask that you continue to support policies for small and midsize businesses, startups, and microbusiness owners going forward."