Lee Jae-myung: "Will Support Companies' Innovative Industries Through Regulatory Sandbox"

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung announced that he will maximize support for companies' innovative industries through a regulatory sandbox (temporary exemption or suspension of regulations for a specified period).

Governor Lee stated this at a Gyeonggi Province company regulatory discovery and support roundtable held on the 8th at the provincial government situation room, saying "The nature of industries is flowing in completely different ways from the past due to technological innovation, but administration is not supporting this and instead appearing as an obstacle."

The governor continued, "Regulations are originally government control for the common good of our community, but at some point, there is an aspect where regulations have become entrenched as regulations for their own sake. I believe we can break through this unfortunate reality with the regulatory sandbox. Within the scope that the province can handle, I will make efforts to ensure that the regulatory sandbox fulfills its purpose," he emphasized.

The governor added, "I don't believe that the majority of businesspeople in the field are trying to gain unfair excessive profits through unjust systems. Most business leaders want a rational foundation for fair competition. I will do my best to ensure that the opportunities for them to grow into excellent companies are not deprived."

The roundtable was attended by Park Yong-man, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Kim Ki-jun, Director of the Gyeonggi Economic Science Promotion Agency, along with business leaders who received support from the Gyeonggi Province Regulatory Sandbox Activation Project including Bahn Ho-young, CEO of Neofect, which provides home rehabilitation services to children and the elderly; Ham Hyun-geun, CEO of Chilling Kitchen, a food truck shared kitchen service; and Park Chan-pyo, CEO of Dom Island, which sells prefabricated dome tents for glamping, as well as Song Do-young, a lawyer and consultant for the Gyeonggi Province regulatory sandbox.

Chairman Park Yong-man said, "As COVID-19 has prolonged, many changes are occurring in companies, but it seems laws and systems haven't changed much, which is unfortunate. This is not something that can be done by one or two people's will, but something that society as a whole must do."

He added, "I am grateful that Gyeonggi Province has created a dedicated organization for the sandbox to provide support. I hope we can work closely together to discover businesses that can become pioneers of new industries, and I hope the entire Gyeonggi Province becomes a model region where new industries take root."

At this meeting, business leaders supported by the Gyeonggi Province Regulatory Sandbox Activation Project freely shared the difficulties they experience in the field and their expectations for Gyeonggi Province.

Dom Island CEO Park Chan-pyo said, "After receiving regulatory exemptions, when I met with camping site managers at local governments across the country to explain the product, many were unaware of the regulatory exemption. I would appreciate it if Gyeonggi Province would create and distribute official notices that these managers can easily understand."

Chilling Kitchen CEO Ham Hyun-geun suggested, "It is necessary to expand shared kitchens in major cities and counties of Gyeonggi Province so that food trucks can be operated hygienically and efficiently."

Governor Lee responded to these suggestions, saying "I will further research and improve the content of the proposals you have made. For regulatory rationalization, the passion and goodwill of civil servants are very important. I will work with you to create new models in Gyeonggi Province."

Following the roundtable, the governor signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on Gyeonggi Province Company Regulatory Discovery and Support" with Park Yong-man, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Kim Ki-jun, Director of the Gyeonggi Economic Science Promotion Agency.

Under the agreement, these institutions will cooperate mutually on ▲discovering companies facing regulatory obstacles within Gyeonggi Province ▲providing corporate consulting to resolve regulatory challenges, proposing regulatory improvements, and submitting applications for regulatory exemptions ▲supporting coordination with relevant local governments for companies applying for regulatory exemptions and providing follow-up management and support for approved companies ▲collaborative methods among signatory institutions and new business discovery and other matters.

Today's agreement was prepared to activate the regulatory sandbox system, which exempts or suspends existing regulations for a specified period for new products or services to enable companies to realize innovative ideas freely.

The regulatory sandbox converts the regulatory framework for products and services applying new technologies from a "permit-first-regulate-after" system, and has been in operation since January of last year to restructure the corporate innovation ecosystem in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. Companies wishing to utilize this system must receive approval from relevant ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Financial Services Commission. However, small and medium-sized enterprises in the province have faced difficulties in utilizing the system due to challenges starting from the application form completion stage.

Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Economic Science Promotion Agency have, for the first time among local governments, established a stepwise regulatory sandbox support process, providing support for the entire process from pre-application reception consulting to demonstration cost support after approval. As of the end of August, a total of 33 consulting sessions were conducted, and 6 companies passed the government's regulatory sandbox, achieving results that enabled actual business operations.

Currently, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry is supporting companies through the 'Sandbox Support Center,' and the province plans to cooperate with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to provide faster and more convenient services, actively discovering and supporting companies in the province facing regulatory obstacles.