Shift to 'negative' regulation system proposed to foster new industries

The Ministry of Planning and Budget and the Long-Term Strategy Committee discussed shifting the existing regulatory framework to a "negative" system — one that permits activities by default and addresses problems after the fact — to foster new industries. Participants also called for expanding communication channels between businesses and the government and building broader social consensus as the foundation for regulatory reform.

The ministry and the 7th Long-Term Strategy Committee held the "7th Governance Reform Subcommittee Meeting" on Wednesday to discuss ways to overhaul regulations in support of new industry development.

At the meeting, participants said the negative regulation system — which allows activities unless explicitly prohibited — should be more widely applied in place of the current positive system, which requires explicit permission, except in areas directly tied to public safety and lives.

Kwon Oh-hyun, chairman of the Long-Term Strategy Committee, said a shift to the negative approach was necessary for nurturing new industries. "Rather than applying existing regulations uniformly, we need to move to a negative system that permits activities first and then supplements them in stages — except in areas directly tied to public safety," he said. Kwon added that cultivating specialized companies and trained personnel, not just laws and regulations, was also critical to preventing industrial accidents.

Cha Gyeong-jin, a professor at Hanyang University's School of Business Administration, proposed expanding communication channels between companies and the government so that businesses' difficulties can be quickly reflected in policy, helping startups grow.

Moon So-young, a senior research fellow at the Economy Plus Research Institute, said deregulation in non-economic areas such as the environment, safety and labor should proceed only after building social consensus and going through a sufficient public deliberation process.

Meeting participants agreed that reducing the regulatory burden on businesses and maintaining consistency in the legal framework required systematic, statute-level regulatory improvements rather than piecemeal revisions to individual provisions.

The Ministry of Planning and Budget and the Long-Term Strategy Committee plan to continue discussions on future strategic tasks and regulatory reform measures based on the proposals raised at the meeting.