Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) said on the 5th that a total of 25 former KFME branch chiefs and executives won seats as local council members in last month's local elections.
According to KFME, Park Jeong-seon, former KFME South Jeolla branch chief, was elected to the Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Metropolitan Council; for the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, Choi Hye-kyung, former head of the KFME Gwangju (Gyeonggi) branch, and Ji Yeong-il, former auditor of the KFME Giheung District branch in Yongin, were elected; and for the Gangwon Provincial Council, Lee Sang-mi, former director of the KFME Gangwon branch, was elected.
In the basic local council elections, 21 people with KFME backgrounds were also elected. The total number of local council members with KFME backgrounds produced through these local elections was counted at 25.
KFME added that if winners from 93 industry associations are included, the number of local council members from the microbusiness sector produced in these local elections is estimated to reach hundreds.
KFME expects them to lead policy development, including establishing local government ordinances dedicated to microbusinesses, securing budgets to boost local currency and neighborhood commercial districts, and creating subsidies at the local government level to stabilize management.
KFME President Song Chi-young said, "This achievement proves that the voices of 7.9 million microbusiness owners have grown beyond mere complaints into an important part of livelihood politics."