"We must cultivate small business owners and local corporations as key players in regional development to respond to regional extinction. Small business policy should expand beyond simple protection and sales support into an urban policy that builds cities where people can work, live and enjoy themselves in their communities."
Nicknamed the "alleyway economist," Yonsei University professor Mo Jong-rin emphasized this at a roundtable titled "The second Seongsu-dong: A new model to respond to regional extinction" held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 31st. The event was co-hosted by National Assembly members Park Ju-min, Choi Ki-sang, Jeong Tae-ho, Kim Dong-a and Kim Nam-joon.
Professor Mo noted that regional extinction should be seen not as a simple population decline but as the disappearance of cities where "work, residence and leisure" can be close at hand. He said it is difficult to create commercial districts and everyday services that make people want to stay through only large-scale projects such as industrial complexes, the transfer of public institutions, and transportation infrastructure.
Citing Seongsu-dong in Seoul as a representative case, Professor Mo said, "The change in Seongsu-dong did not start with externals like cafes, pop-up stores and red-brick buildings," explaining that a local ecosystem formed as creators and small business owners built new spaces, products, services and brands on the foundation of existing manufacturing, small factories, alleys and old buildings.
After commercial districts and a local brand ecosystem took shape in Seongsu-dong, founders, corporations, jobs, housing and a settled population followed, showing a path of urban development. Professor Mo described this as "small business owners and local corporations → commercial districts and everyday culture → founders and corporations → jobs, housing and settled population," and stressed that commercial districts should be seen as "content production bases" that create new corporations and industries.
Professor Mo also cited Hyundai Card's Bongpyeong Market in Gangwon Province, the Gwangju 1913 Songjeong Station Market project and Seoul City's local brand commercial district promotion program, saying policies are needed to turn merchants in traditional markets and alleyway commercial districts, and local resources, into content and brands. He proposed that the government should not stop at facilities, events and attracting famous brands, but should also build space and provide workforce, finance and sales channels for small business startups and the growth of local corporations.
Regarding lawmaker Lee So-young, nominated as candidate for Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Professor Mo emphasized the need to seek a new policy direction by consolidation of her expertise in climate and environment with policies for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners.
The nominee is an expert in climate, environment and energy, having worked as a climate-environment specialist attorney and as deputy head of Climate Solutions, and also served as a secretary on the National Assembly Special Committee on the Climate Crisis. On the other hand, there are assessments that she is relatively less specialized in the small and medium-sized enterprise and venture sectors, so Professor Mo suggested she could find a new role in policies that combine the environment with local economies.
Professor Mo said, "Local food that is produced and consumed nearby reduces long-distance transport and complex distribution," adding, "There is a need to cultivate local corporations that use regional materials and technologies, and artisan corporations that make products meant to be used for a long time and repaired, as the main players in resource circulation."