SEJONG — Lee So-young, the new minister of SMEs and startups, said closing the gap between large and small companies is at the core of her ministry's mission, adding that small and medium-sized enterprises must become full participants in the growth wave opening up with the artificial intelligence era.
Speaking at her inauguration ceremony at the Government Complex Sejong on the 28th, Lee said the rapid shift to AI "could widen the gap or narrow it," and that "the ministry is the very agency that decides which way it goes at that fork in the road."
"Historic growth momentum and massive national projects must become new opportunities not only for employees at a handful of large companies but for all citizens," she said. "SMEs must be allowed to take part as full participants from the stage when national strategic industries and large-scale projects are being designed."
Lee stressed that her ministry must take the initiative in that process. "Whether it is finance, labor, or distribution and platforms, if it is an issue that shapes the lives of our SMEs and small business owners, the ministry must be the first to raise the problem and offer an answer," she said. "If the ministry, which sees the field most closely, fails to say what needs to be said, it is not fulfilling its responsibility."
She also named regulatory reform and managing the cost burdens on small business owners as major policy tasks. "Even if it means clashing with existing industries or practices, I will be a 'deregulation minister' who speaks up on the side of the field and of innovation," Lee said. On small business policy, she said cost burdens such as rent, labor costs, interest and platform fees "must be quantified with objective indicators and managed by the government," adding that she would "systematize a range of policies in that process."
Lee also signaled her intent to revive the risk capital function of the capital markets. "We must build an ecosystem where anyone with technology and ideas can attract investment, grow and be properly valued by the market," she said. "The ministry will speak up actively on capital market policy as well."
Lee urged ministry staff to "work like a startup inside the government." "The person who knows a policy most deeply is sometimes neither the minister nor the director-general, but the official who has wrestled with the work for a long time," she said. "I want to debate directly, regardless of rank. If there is a better answer, I will gladly change my own thinking." She added that the ministry will mark its 10th anniversary next year, and that "the next decade must be a time when SMEs, venture firms and startups, and small business owners stand as rightful leading players in our economy."
