Ministry of Government Legislation moves to help SMEs

The Ministry of Government Legislation announced on Thursday that it will review existing acts and expand its services to support merchants and small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) better.

Government Legislation Minister Lee Wan-kyu announces the ministry's plans for this year during a press briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex in downtown Seoul on Wednesday, ahead of the tenth livelihood debate held Thursday. [MINISTRY OF GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION]

The Ministry of Government Legislation announced on Thursday that it will review existing acts and expand its services to support merchants and small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) better.

The ministry unveiled its plan for the year during Thursday's tenth public livelihood debate, presided over by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The ministry said it would help amendments to laws for small businesses, including the Public Health Control Act, to pass through the National Assembly as quickly as possible.

It also plans to examine laws such as the Youth Protection Act and Food Sanitation Act to protect businesses from minors who forge their identification and use them to violate the law. Some restaurants in Korea have faced administrative dispositions such as business suspensions when they were caught selling alcohol to minors who falsified their identities.

To promote exports, the ministry will expand its provision of legal translations from more countries and areas. The ministry currently provides legal information from nine countries on content industry-related laws only, but this will be expanded this year to translations of laws from 13 countries covering other areas, including food, beauty and medicine.

Additionally, AI will be implemented to help the public find related laws more easily.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]