Government Holds Economic Ministers’ Meeting
Announces Corporate Regulatory Innovation Plans, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok speaks at an urgent macroeconomic and financial issues meeting held at the Bankers Association in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 5th. Yonhap News.,
The government is moving forward with plans to lower the requirements for setting up small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) cooperatives by reducing the number of promoters and membership qualifications. It also plans to expand hydrogen-specialized companies and semiconductor fabless companies.
On the 5th, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok held an Economic Ministers’ Meeting at the Government Complex Seoul and announced the ‘Corporate Dynamism Enhancement and New Industry Promotion Economic Regulatory Innovation Plan’ containing these measures. This plan includes 36 initiatives across three areas: resolving management difficulties for small merchants and SMEs, nurturing core and new industries, and stimulating investment.
First, the government plans to energize SME cooperatives by easing establishment requirements. Currently, to establish a nationwide SME cooperative, at least 50 people are needed, and for a regional cooperative, 30 people are required. Additionally, membership from other industries is limited to 20% of the total membership.
In this regard, the government intends to amend the SME Cooperative Act in the first half of next year to lower the minimum number of promoters to 30 for nationwide cooperatives and 20 for regional cooperatives. The 20% limit for cross-industry membership will be raised in the second half of next year.
The recognition criteria for hydrogen-specialized companies, which can receive various tax benefits and support, will also be relaxed. Currently, for a company to be recognized as a hydrogen-specialized company, if the total sales are less than 100 billion won, the hydrogen sales ratio must be above 20%. If the total sales are 100 billion won or more, the hydrogen sales ratio must exceed 10%.
However, applying different hydrogen sales ratios based on total sales has led to a regressive phenomenon. A company with total sales of 70 billion won must have hydrogen sales of 14 billion won to be designated a hydrogen-specialized company, while a company with total sales of 110 billion won needs only 11 billion won of hydrogen sales.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance stated, “We will add an absolute sales amount criterion to the hydrogen business sales ratio,” and “We will set the standard by considering quantitative indicators such as innovative capacity, patents, and export performance. We plan to review the amendment of the Hydrogen Economy Promotion and Hydrogen Safety Management Act implementation decree next year.”
The government will institutionalize vehicles applying easy swap technology for future cars. Easy swap technology allows consumers to select and use various vehicle functions according to their lifestyle by swapping out the vehicle’s body part. However, there is currently no comprehensive legal framework for vehicles with this technology. The government plans to develop easy swap technology and improve related laws and systems by around 2027 to enable the commercialization of such vehicles.
Furthermore, the government aims to support overseas talent acquisition for semiconductor fabless companies. While there is a strong preference for large corporations, leading to a workforce drain from small fabless companies, startups find it challenging to individually attract overseas talent.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance remarked, “We will expand support for placing overseas job openings using global platforms and initiate providing talent and technology information through the AI-based TechGPT platform.”
Additionally, the government plans to establish and operate a regulatory support center for digital medical products by enacting the Digital Medical Products Act within the year and improve cancellation criteria for innovative pharmaceutical company certifications. Other initiatives include legislating the Animal Testing Alternatives Act, advancing preemptive health management services based on large-scale AI, and improving the issuance conditions for professional visas (E-7).