SME minister calls on public agencies to deliver results people can feel

Minister of SMEs and Startups Han Sung-sook on Sunday called on the heads of agencies under her ministry to personally oversee their core tasks so that policy outcomes translate into real change on the ground.

Han made the remarks while hosting a policy council meeting that afternoon, saying public and affiliated institutions are "the key implementing bodies that make policies for small and medium-sized enterprises, startups and ventures, and small business owners actually work in the field."

The council was convened to review first-half results from major policies pursued by public and affiliated institutions since the government took office, and to examine whether the people and businesses the ministry serves are genuinely feeling the impact of those policies.

Attending the meeting were the heads of 11 public institutions — including the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Korea Federation of Small Business, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, Korea Startup Agency, Korea Institute for SME and Startup Research, Korea Federation of Credit Guarantee Foundations, Korea Venture Investment, Korea SME Distribution Corporation and Public Home Shopping — along with the heads of four affiliated organizations: the Korea Disabled People's Development Institute, the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership, the Korea SME and Venture Certification Institute, the Korea Foundation for Youth Entrepreneurship and the Korea Women's Business Center.

Each institution presented its first-half achievements and second-half priorities by policy area. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups reviewed each agency's direction in detail and discussed what adjustments were needed to keep key second-half tasks on track.

The council also took up the results of actions taken in response to issues raised during last year's national audit, along with plans going forward. The ministry said it would also extend its existing "national normalization project" to all 11 public institutions under its umbrella and proactively identify normalization tasks for each agency.

Han said public institutions must go beyond simply executing projects and instead be the first to identify problems in the field and propose solutions. The ministry said it would strengthen a performance-centered policy management framework that delivers results people and businesses can actually feel. Each institution also agreed to actively gather on-the-ground feedback and identify areas for regulatory and systemic improvement in the second half of the year.

Based on the discussions at the council, the ministry plans to continuously monitor the progress of each agency's second-half priorities and normalization tasks, and to strengthen follow-up management to ensure policies produce tangible results in the field.