Helping ‘Turnaround Entrepreneurs’ Overcome Their Stigma
- Division
- 국제협력과
- Date
- 2017.11.06
- Writer
- 박강범
- File
- Headline
- The MSS to reform its business practice review program for re-startup entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs who were once excluded from the government’s re-startup support programs because of a single mistake decades ago now have a shot at receiving government support.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (“MSS," Vice Minister Su-gyu Choi) announced its plan to reform its Business Practice Review for Re-startup Entrepreneurs program. The program is aimed at helping turnaround entrepreneurs who experienced failure despite their sound business practices.
Under the Business Practice Review for Re-startup Entrepreneurs program, entrepreneurs looking for re-startup opportunities are reviewed to determine whether they employed sound practices in their previous businesses, in other words, whether they deliberately led their businesses to bankruptcy, falsely settled their accounting records, or illegally dismissed their workers.
A turnaround entrepreneur is required to pass a review to receive financial support for re-startup from the government.
From July 2016, when the program was launched, to 1H 2017, a total of 1,557 turnaround entrepreneurs were reviewed for the soundness of their business practices, and 84% of the entrepreneurs passed the review.
However, some outside the MSS pointed out that disqualifying entrepreneurs for mistakes from decades ago is too strict, and works against helping entrepreneurs overcome their failures.
To address this issue, the MSS adjusted the time-frame of criminal records to be reviewed under the program.
The crimes to be included in the review will be selected by taking into account how severe the violations were and how long ago the violations were committed.
The program will review whether the applicants committed business or labor-related crimes for which they were sentenced to fines or a suspended sentence during the last five years, less than three years imprisonment during the past ten years, and three years of imprisonment or more that ended 15 years ago.
It means turnaround entrepreneurs with prior records of violations can apply for re-startup government support projects after the prescribed periods.
The MSS also improved the appeal procedure for entrepreneurs who failed the review and reduced the number of reviews each entrepreneur is required to go through to secure government support.
Turnaround entrepreneurs who did not pass the review can now file his/her objection with a committee of outside experts to obtain an objective decision.
In addition, until now applicants had to go through a review for every re-startup project they applied to. However, going forward, once they pass a review by one of the five review organizations designated by the MSS, they do not have to go through another review for up to two years.
Dong-won Lee, head of the Turnaround Support Division, said “a past mistake should not ruin one’s chance to come back from it and be a burden for the rest of one’s life. I hope this year’s reform will provide entrepreneurs with more opportunities to come back from their mistakes, and promote the overall re-startup activities."
The revised criteria will apply starting on October 31, 2017.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (“MSS," Vice Minister Su-gyu Choi) announced its plan to reform its Business Practice Review for Re-startup Entrepreneurs program. The program is aimed at helping turnaround entrepreneurs who experienced failure despite their sound business practices.
Under the Business Practice Review for Re-startup Entrepreneurs program, entrepreneurs looking for re-startup opportunities are reviewed to determine whether they employed sound practices in their previous businesses, in other words, whether they deliberately led their businesses to bankruptcy, falsely settled their accounting records, or illegally dismissed their workers.
A turnaround entrepreneur is required to pass a review to receive financial support for re-startup from the government.
From July 2016, when the program was launched, to 1H 2017, a total of 1,557 turnaround entrepreneurs were reviewed for the soundness of their business practices, and 84% of the entrepreneurs passed the review.
However, some outside the MSS pointed out that disqualifying entrepreneurs for mistakes from decades ago is too strict, and works against helping entrepreneurs overcome their failures.
To address this issue, the MSS adjusted the time-frame of criminal records to be reviewed under the program.
The crimes to be included in the review will be selected by taking into account how severe the violations were and how long ago the violations were committed.
The program will review whether the applicants committed business or labor-related crimes for which they were sentenced to fines or a suspended sentence during the last five years, less than three years imprisonment during the past ten years, and three years of imprisonment or more that ended 15 years ago.
It means turnaround entrepreneurs with prior records of violations can apply for re-startup government support projects after the prescribed periods.
The MSS also improved the appeal procedure for entrepreneurs who failed the review and reduced the number of reviews each entrepreneur is required to go through to secure government support.
Turnaround entrepreneurs who did not pass the review can now file his/her objection with a committee of outside experts to obtain an objective decision.
In addition, until now applicants had to go through a review for every re-startup project they applied to. However, going forward, once they pass a review by one of the five review organizations designated by the MSS, they do not have to go through another review for up to two years.
Dong-won Lee, head of the Turnaround Support Division, said “a past mistake should not ruin one’s chance to come back from it and be a burden for the rest of one’s life. I hope this year’s reform will provide entrepreneurs with more opportunities to come back from their mistakes, and promote the overall re-startup activities."
The revised criteria will apply starting on October 31, 2017.