Lee So-young visits traditional market in first outing as SMEs minister

Lee So-young made a traditional market her first stop after taking office as minister of SMEs and Startups, pledging to swiftly draw up a plan to reform the Onuri gift voucher system to expand benefits for traditional markets.

Lee visited the Korea Merchants Federation office and Suwon Nammun Market in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday morning, the day before the Chuseok holiday. Suwon Nammun Market is a representative traditional market in the region, formed by a commercial community that brings together nearby markets including Yeongdong Market and Motgol Market.

At Yeongdong Market, Lee met with officials at the Korea Merchants Federation office before sitting down for a tea meeting with executives and market association heads.

At the meeting, Lee put forward reform of the Onuri gift voucher system as a policy measure to strengthen the self-sustaining capacity of traditional markets, announcing plans to quickly develop a reform package that would expand the benefits flowing to those markets.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups had earlier revised the eligibility criteria for Onuri gift vouchers to ensure they are used in line with their original purpose of supporting small merchants. Through a revision to enforcement regulations in June, the ministry restricted new merchant registrations for stores with annual sales exceeding 3 billion won ($2.17 million), as well as hospitals, clinics, law firms, accounting firms and certain other business types, while also tightening sanctions against fraudulent distribution.

Lee also pledged to strengthen disaster response support for traditional markets. The ministry plans to build a tailored support system for each type of disaster and expand facility and equipment support for disaster prevention.

Lee then moved to Motgol Market, where she checked on the supply of Chuseok staples and everyday price trends, purchased goods directly and listened to merchants' concerns. The items she bought are to be delivered to vulnerable residents in the area.

"It is meaningful to visit a traditional market as my first outing after taking office and hear directly from people on the ground," Lee said. "I will strengthen practical, field-centered support so that traditional markets can become vibrant hubs driving the local economy, not just living spaces for residents."

"Above all, policy must start from the field, so I will listen carefully to the voices of merchants to ensure that support is something they can actually feel," she added.