From 'Climate Lawyer' to Nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups… The Startup Industry’s Expectations for Lee So

Representative Lee So-young of the Democratic Party of Korea, who started her career as a climate and environment lawyer and served two terms as a National Assembly member, has been selected as the nominee to oversee policies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups. With her nomination as the Minister of SMEs and Startups, the venture and startup industries are also paying close attention to her policy moves.

On the 30th, President Lee Jae-myung nominated Rep. Lee as the candidate for Minister of SMEs and Startups. The Blue House explained the rationale behind the nomination, stating that he has accumulated extensive policy experience ranging from innovative growth to the people's livelihood economy, including actively engaging in legislation to support startups and protect small business owners. He is evaluated as the figure who will lead the transition to a national era of entrepreneurship and foster and support small business owners.

Immediately after his nomination, Candidate Lee also released a message viewing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and venture companies as a new growth axis for the Korean economy. Stating that “the Republic of Korea needs a new path of growth,” he expressed his intention to dedicate himself to building an “innovative nation” where the creativity and ideas of the people can lead to actual change. He also pledged to faithfully participate in the National Assembly confirmation hearing process.

The reason the industry is paying attention to this appointment is that the nominee started as a climate and energy expert and has covered a wide range of topics in the National Assembly, including industry, capital markets, and startup policies.

Born in Busan in 1985, Candidate Lee graduated from the Department of Law at Sungkyunkwan University and passed the 51st Judicial Examination in 2009. After completing the 41st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he worked as an environment and energy lawyer at Kim & Chang Law Firm. Subsequently, he founded and was active in Climate Solution, a non-profit organization focused on climate issues. He entered politics in 2020 as a recruited talent for the Democratic Party of Korea, was elected as a member of the 21st National Assembly representing Uiwang and Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province, and successfully won re-election in the 22nd general election. He currently serves as a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee and as the Secretary of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.

Immediately after the nomination, venture and startup-related organizations unanimously expressed their welcome. The words that appeared in common were AI, innovation, investment, scale-up, and 'growth'.

The Korea Startup Forum highly evaluated the nominee's experience in handling climate and carbon reduction issues on the ground, as well as his experience with policies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and venture companies at the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, and Small and Medium Enterprises Committee. In particular, they noted that he has dealt with issues concerning innovation industries and the capital market during discussions on the amendment of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the revision of the Commercial Act, in addition to establishing systems to support startups and protect small business owners.

The demands for the next Ministry of SMEs and Startups are also specific. They call for going a step beyond creating an environment where anyone can start a business to foster promising AI and deep tech companies and expand the venture investment market, while also extending to cooperation between the public and startups, the redesign of startup-centric systems, and support for global scale-up.

The Korea Venture Business Association also assessed that Candidate Lee has reflected the voices of ventures and startups in the legislative process while serving as a re-elected lawmaker. In particular, it cited creating a policy environment where ventures and startups can secure global competitiveness as a key task, given that the transition to AI is changing the competitive landscape across industries. It also called for connecting the national agenda of becoming one of the top four venture powerhouses and achieving 40 trillion won in annual venture investment to actual market changes.

Technology-innovative SMEs emphasized the restoration of the 'growth ladder.' The InnoBiz Association stated that the growth path extending from startups through ventures and innovative SMEs to mid-sized enterprises should be strengthened, and that R&D policies should also focus on tangible results such as technology commercialization and market establishment rather than simple subsidy support.

The transition to AI in manufacturing sites was also cited as a challenge. There is a demand to improve infrastructure and systems so that traditional manufacturing companies can leverage AI and data to increase productivity, and to establish a support system that connects to ESG response and overseas expansion.

Such industry expectations align with recent policy changes by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The government is shifting its support policies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from distributing small amounts to a large number of companies to selecting innovative firms with high growth potential and providing them with long-term support. Fostering AI and deep tech, facilitating global expansion, revitalizing venture investment, and expanding regional startup ecosystems have also emerged as key policy pillars.

Ultimately, if this nominee takes office as minister, his first test is expected to be translating this policy direction into actual corporate growth.

In particular, it is crucial to organically connect follow-up investment, R&D, regulatory improvements, demonstration, and sales channels necessary for early-stage startups to transition to the scale-up stage. In fields such as AI and deep tech, which require a long time and large-scale funding for technology development, it is also necessary to design a long-term growth path beyond single-year support programs.

The nominee's experience in the climate and energy sectors is another point of interest. With the government designating climate tech as a next-generation growth sector and expanding the nurturing of startups, there is also interest in how he will resolve the intertwined issues of regulation, industrial policy, and technology commercialization.

Above all, what the industry expects from this appointment is corporate growth rather than the number of policies. The role is to create a ladder for startups to grow into venture companies, and then into mid-sized and global enterprises, while connecting investment, regulations, R&D, and sales channels to enable AI and deep tech companies to expand beyond the domestic market.

Immediately after his nomination, this candidate also defined small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and venture companies as “the broadest field of the Korean economy,” delivering the message that SMEs and venture companies must be present at the beginning and end of new growth.

Candidate Lee, who started as a "climate lawyer" and has traversed the realms of industry and legislation, now stands at the forefront of policy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and venture companies. If he passes the National Assembly confirmation hearing, the task facing him is clear: to move beyond a government that merely supports startups and to create an ecosystem where these startups can actually grow.