A two-month vacancy at the helm of South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups is moving toward resolution with the nomination of Rep. Lee So-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, clearing the way for long-delayed appointments at the ministry's affiliated agencies.
The heads of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency and the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs both completed their terms late last month, according to the ministry on the 2nd. The chairman of the Disabled Business Support Center will finish his term in October. The Korea SMEs and Startups Distribution Center began an open recruitment process after its chief executive's term expired in April. That puts four of the ministry's 11 major affiliated organizations in line for leadership changes this year.
KOSME completed the formation of an executive recommendation committee to select a successor to Chairman Kang Seok-jin ahead of the expiration of his term. The agency plans to issue a recruitment notice for the new chairman shortly. Under the Act on the Management of Public Institutions, the committee recommends a candidate for chairman, who is then formally proposed by the SME minister and appointed by the president. The timeline for selecting KOSME's new chairman is therefore expected to be somewhat fluid, depending on when Lee takes office. TIPA also completed the formation of its recommendation committee in June to select a new president and is preparing to begin the succession process.
The first agency whose leader's term expired was the distribution center. Chief Executive Lee Tae-sik's term ended on April 13, but he remains in the post because the search for a successor has been delayed. The center issued a recruitment notice for chief executive under the name of its recommendation committee on the 12th of last month and closed applications on the 21st. The Disabled Business Support Center is cited as another organization requiring an appointment within the year. Chairman Park Ma-roo's term runs through October 31. As a foundation, the center differs from the other agencies in that the chairman's post is non-standing. Its new chairman is also appointed by the head of the Korea Association of Disabled Persons Enterprises rather than by the SME minister.
The ministry's remaining affiliated agencies installed new leaders within the past one to two years and are not immediate candidates for change. At the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Chairman Kwon Hyung-taek took office in July and will serve through July 2029. Lee In-yeon became chairman of the Korea SMEs and Micro Enterprises Agency in January of this year with a term running through January 2029, and Public Home Shopping named Lee Il-yong as its new chief executive in March. Won Young-joon, chairman of the Korea Federation of Credit Guarantee Foundations, Yoo Jong-pil, president of the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development, and Lee Dae-hee, chief executive of Korea Venture Investment, all hold terms running through 2028. Cho Ju-hyun, president of the Korea Small Business Institute, serves through September 2027.
