Seoul to cut red tape for start-up stimulus

Policymakers on Wednesday vowed to simplify the regulatory procedures for venture start-ups to set up business as part of the administration’s three-year plan for market renovation.

During a meeting of economy-related ministers, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok pointed out that the business start-up segment stood at 34th, even as Korea ranked seventh in the World Bank Group’s 2013 overall Ease of Doing Business report.

“Those seeking to set up their own businesses will benefit from the streamlined procedures,” Hyun said.

Linking these measures with the Park Geun-hye government’s creative economy initiative, the Finance Ministry earlier stressed that it “would pour 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in state funds into the venture start-up segment over the coming years.”

Hyun also said it was urgent for the country to step up protection of small investors in the stock market, citing Korea’s ranking of 52nd in the world in terms of investor protection, according to the World Bank in 2013.

To boost its performance in evaluations set for October, the government plans to publicize the nation’s business environment in the internationally, he added.

Finance Ministry officials said they would benchmark successful cases of start-ups in advanced countries as well as collect extensive opinions from a variety of local industries.

The three-year vision, unveiled in February, suggests that President Park sees the economy as a priority in her second year in office and that she is committed to making the ambitious vision a reality, with tangible results before her term ends in early 2018.

It features reforming debt-ridden public institutions; removing investment-hampering regulations; rooting out unfair market practices; strengthening the country’s social safety net; realizing her creative economy vision and pursuing more free-trade deals.

The plan is also reminiscent of a series of “five-year economic development plans” that her late father, former President Park Chung-hee, carried out to lift South Korea from poverty in the 1960 and ’70s.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)