Ministry of SMEs and Startups to rebuild All Start-up platform next year
On October 7, 2026, Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young announced during a National Assembly audit that the ministry will select a new vendor to rebuild the “All Start-up” platform next year following a major data breach, news.kbs.co.kr reported. The platform, designed to foster ideas from prospective and early-stage entrepreneurs by connecting them with veteran founders and investors, suffered an incident this year that exposed the email addresses and startup idea summaries of 5,000 successful applicants.
Minister Lee Explains Continued Use of Breached Platform
During the parliamentary audit held by the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee, lawmakers questioned why the existing developer’s platform continues to be utilized for the project’s second phase despite the earlier breach, according to news.kbs.co.kr and newsis.com. Minister Lee explained that the vendor has not received a new work order or additional contract funds for the second phase. Instead, the project is operating on the system built under the original agreement. Lee noted that after the breach, the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Personal Information Protection Commission conducted inspections and enforced security measures. She added that the current platform acts as a temporary measure with verified security controls until the ministry deploys the newly built system next year.
Lawmakers also scrutinized the initial vendor selection process.
Lee Seeks to Reduce Double Burden for Small Businesses
The parliamentary session addressed several additional small business and venture policy challenges. On the topic of the Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid fund, Rep. Jeon Eun-su raised concerns that small business owners who prematurely cancel their accounts face a double burden because their returned funds are re-taxed as fresh income, triggering additional health insurance contributions. Lee acknowledged that the situation carries the character of a double burden and stated her intention to consult with the Ministry of Health and Welfare on improvement measures, DAUM and newsis.com reported. Regarding the Youth Startup Leadership Academy, where next year’s budget was previously slashed during business consolidations, Lee stated that she is working with the National Assembly to maintain the 16-year-old alumni network, according to newsis.com.
Further policy debates centered on online traditional markets offering high-end foreign goods, such as an 8 million won British audio system, which Lee agreed runs counter to the purpose of Onnuri gift certificates, prompting a review of product restrictions. On public delivery applications, where 97 percent of the 120 billion won budget goes toward discount coupons, Lee told lawmakers that the ministry is exploring revisions including rider incentives to counter the exclusive dependence created by major private delivery platforms, yna.co.kr reported. Finally, addressing financial regulations, Lee stated that evaluating companies solely on a market capitalization threshold of 200 billion won for stock de-listing could produce unfair outcomes, adding that she intends to discuss growth and profitability metrics directly with the Financial Services Commission to protect sound enterprises from abrupt market exits, khan.co.kr and newsis.com noted.
