ENFORCEMENT DECREE OF THE FRAMEWORK ACT ON MICRO ENTERPRISES

Article 1(Purpose) #

The purpose of this Decree is to prescribe the matters mandated by the Framework Act on Micro Enterprises and those necessary for the enforcement thereof.

Article 2(Definitions) #

The terms used in this Decree are defined as follows: (1) A small and medium enterprise as defined in Article 2(1)1 of the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") shall be a business entity that meets all the standards prescribed in the following subparagraphs: <Amended on Apr. 14, 2014; Jun. 30, 2015; Apr. 5, 2016; Apr. 26, 2016; Oct. 17, 2017; Feb. 17, 2021>

a. For an enterprise which is a corporation: The date of registration of its incorporation;

b. For a non-corporate business entity which has filed for business registration under Article 168 of the Income Tax Act or Article 8 of the Value-Added Tax Act: The date of business registration;

2. The term "date of merger or division" means any of the following dates:

a. For an enterprise which is a corporation: The date of registration of the incorporation of a corporation established as a result of merger or division or the date of registration of changes to the corporation surviving merger or division;

b. For a non-corporate business entity which has filed for business registration under Article 168 of the Income Tax Act or Article 8 of the Value-Added Tax Act: The date the business registration is completed for a joint place of business or the date the business registration is completed after separating such joint place of business;

3. The term "executive officer" means any of the following persons:

a. For an incorporated company or limited liability company: Registered directors and auditors;

b. For an enterprise other than that referred to in item a: Any of the following persons:

1) A member with unlimited liability;

2) A general partner;

3) Unpaid family workers (referring to the spouses and lineal ascendants of a member with unlimited liability or a general partner, who are not paid wages referred to in Article 2(1)5 of the Labor Standards Act).

Article 3(Scope of micro enterprises) #

(1) "Criteria prescribed by Presidential Decree" in Article 2(1)2 of the Framework Act on Micro Enterprises (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") means that the number of full-time workers engaged in the main business falls under any of the following by type of business:

1. Mining business, manufacturing business, construction business, and transportation business: Less than ten persons;

2. A type of business other than those listed in subparagraph 1: Less than five persons.

(2) Articles 4 and 7 of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises (excluding paragraph (2)2; hereafter in this paragraph the same shall apply) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the standards for a main business under paragraph (1). In such cases, "average sales, etc." in Articles 4 and 7 of that Decree shall be construed as "sales," "immediately preceding three business years" in Article 7(2)1 of that Decree as "the immediately preceding business year," and "36 months" as "12 months", "amount obtained by dividing total sales by three" as "sales", and "subparagraph 2" in the part other than the items of subparagraph 3 of that paragraph as "subparagraph 1."

(3) A full-time worker referred to in paragraph (1) shall be a worker referred to in Article 2 (1) 1 of the Labor Standards Act, excluding any of the following persons: <Amended on Jan. 27, 2026>

1. An executive officer and a worker employed on a daily basis under Article 20(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act;

2. A person who works for a fixed period of up to three months;

3. A person dedicated to research, who belongs to a business-affiliated research institute or a department solely responsible for research and development recognized under Article 7 (1) of the Act on Support for Research and Development of Business-Affiliated Research Institutes;

4. A part-time worker referred to in Article 2(1)9 of the Labor Standards Act (hereafter in this Article referred to as "part-time worker"), whose prescribed working hours for one month are less than 60 hours.

(4) The number of full-time workers referred to in paragraph (1) shall be calculated according to the following methods. In such cases, a part-time worker whose prescribed working hours for a month is not less than 60 hours shall be counted as 0.5 person:

1. Where the total period of business for the immediately preceding business year is 12 months (excluding where a business entity was established, merged, or divided in the immediately preceding business year, and at least 12 months have elapsed from the date of its establishment, merger, or division): The number of persons obtained by dividing the combined number of full-time workers as of the last day of each month for the immediately preceding business year by 12;

Article 4(Exclusion from maintenance of status of micro enterprises) #

(1) "Where a person ceases to be a micro enterprise due to ... or any other event specified by Presidential Decree" in the proviso of Article 2(2) of the Act means any of the following cases: <Amended on Dec. 28, 2021; Sep. 1, 2025>

1. Where a micro enterprise merges with an enterprise which remained in the category of micro enterprises under the main clause of Article 2(2) of the Act and three years have elapsed from the year following the year in which an event occurred making the merged enterprise no longer eligible to be a micro enterprise;

2. Where a micro enterprise is no longer recognized as a small and medium enterprise under Article 2(1) of the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises;

3. Where an enterprise that was regarded as a micro enterprise under the main clause of Article 2(2) of the Act (including an enterprise that has waived its status as a micro enterprise under subparagraph 6) has become a micro enterprise under paragraph (1) of that Article, and then again ceases to be a micro enterprise;

4. Where the number of full-time workers of a micro enterprise reaches 20 or more;

5. Where a micro enterprise becomes a company that belongs to a business group subject to disclosure under Article 31(1) of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act or a company that is deemed to have been incorporated and notified as a member of a business group subject to disclosure under Article 33 of that Act;

6. Where an enterprise regarded as a micro enterprise under the main clause of Article 2(2) of the Act has waived its status as a micro enterprise; in such cases, the relevant enterprise shall submit to the Minister of SMEs and Startups an application for waiver of a micro enterprise status in the attached form before the end of the period during which it is regarded as a micro enterprise under the main clause of Article 2(2) of the Act.

(2) Where an enterprise has waived its status as a micro enterprise under paragraph 1 (6), it may not withdraw such waiver. <Added on Sep. 1, 2025>

Article 5(Designation of day of micro enterprises) #

(1) "Day .. designated by Presidential Decree" in Article 6 of the Act means November 5 of each year.

(2) The Minister of SMEs and Startups may hold the following events during the Week of Micro Enterprises under Article 6 of the Act:

1. Commendation for meritorious micro enterprises;

2. Commemorative events related to micro enterprises;

3. Other events related to the protection and promotion of micro enterprises.

Article 6(Modification of minor matters) #

"Where it is intended to modify any minor matter specified by Presidential Decree" in the proviso of Article 7(2) of the Act means any of the following cases:

1. Where any change is made to the name of a project for protecting and supporting micro enterprises;

2. Where any change is made to the period of each project within the period of a master plan under Article 7(1) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as the "master plan");

3. Where any correction is made to computational errors, misspellings, or omissions.

Article 7(Submission of report on performance of regional implementation plan) #

The Special Metropolitan City Mayor, a Metropolitan City Mayor, a Special Self-Governing City Mayor, a Do Governor, and a Special Self-Governing Province Governor shall submit a report on the performance of a regional implementation plan under Article 8(2) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "regional implementation plan") to the Minister of SMEs and Startups within one month from the end of the year targeted by the regional implementation plan under paragraph (3) of that Article.

Article 8(Methods and procedures for current situation surveys) #

(1) A current situation survey on the status of micro enterprises and their business management under Article 9(1) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "current situation survey on micro enterprises") shall include the following:

1. Current status of micro enterprises by type of business, region, and gender;

2. Current status of start-up of micro enterprises;

3. Management status of micro enterprises, in terms of sales, business hours, employment and other factors;

4. Status of business conversion by micro enterprises (referring to a case where a micro enterprise closes down its business and starts a new one);

5. Other matters necessary for the efficient formulation and implementation of the master plan and the implementation plan under Article 8(1) of the Act.

(2) The Minister of SMEs and Startups shall collect opinions from relevant central administrative agencies, statistics-related experts, etc., establish a plan to conduct an annual current situation survey on micro enterprises, and then conduct such survey accordingly.

(3) In formulating an implementation plan to conduct a current situation survey on micro enterprises under paragraph (2), the Minister of SMEs and Startups shall comprehensively consider the following:

1. Matters regarding objectives, characteristics, details, methods, and frequencies, etc. of the survey;

2. Matters regarding human resources and expenses necessary for survey planning, sample design, and result analysis, etc.;

3. Matters regarding entrustment of current situation surveys under Article 9(4) of the Act;

4. Other matters necessary to reduce the burden on micro enterprises subject to survey.

Article 9(Preparation and management of statistics) #

(1) The scope of statistics on micro enterprises to be prepared under Article 9(2) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "statistics on micro enterprises") shall be as follows:

1. Matters regarding the current status of micro enterprises;

2. Matters regarding the business performance of micro enterprises, in terms of sales and operating profit;

3. Matters regarding the analysis of trends and prospects of micro enterprises;

4. Other matters deemed necessary by the Minister of SMEs and Startups for supporting micro enterprises.

(2) The Minister of SMEs and Startups may establish a system for the preparation and management of statistics on micro enterprises.

(3) When the Minister of SMEs and Startups prepares and manages the statistics on micro enterprises, he or she may utilize the existing data from surveys on micro enterprises conducted under other statutes or regulations, if any.

(4) The Minister of SMEs and Startups shall publish the statistics on micro enterprises in the following manner under Article 9(2) of the Act:

1. Posting on the Internet website;

2. Provision of press releases to media outlets or issuance of publications.

Article 10(Members of Committee for Deliberation on Policies for Micro Enterprises) #

(1) "Vice Ministers, and public officials at a rank equivalent to a Vice Minister, of the relevant central administrative agencies specified by Presidential Decree" in Article 10-4(4)1 of the Act means the persons prescribed in the following subparagraphs. In such cases, if several Vice Ministers exist in a central administrative agency, the Vice Minister designated by the head of the agency shall serve as a member: <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025; Dec. 30, 2025>

1. Vice Minister of Economy and Finance; Vice Minister of Science and ICT; Vice Minister of Justice; Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety; Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Vice Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources; Vice Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment; Vice Minister of Employment and Labor; Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family; Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries; Vice Chairperson of the Korea Fair Trade Commission; and Vice Chairperson of the Financial Services Commission;

2. The Vice Minister or a vice-ministerial level public official of a relevant central administrative agency who is deemed by the Chairperson (hereinafter referred to as the "Chairperson") of the Committee for Deliberation on Policies for Micro Enterprises established under Article 10(1) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Deliberation Committee") necessary to deliberate on agenda items, other than the persons specified in subparagraph 1.

(2) Any member specified in paragraph (1)2 shall qualify as a member only regarding matters subject to deliberation designated by the Chairperson.

(3) The term of office of each member commissioned under Article 10(4)2 of the Act shall be two years.

Article 11(Operation of Deliberation Committee) #

(1) The Chairperson shall call meetings of the Deliberation Committee and chair the meetings.

(2) When the Chairperson is unable to perform his or her duties due to any unavoidable reasons, a member predesignated by the Chairperson shall act on his or her behalf.

(3) Where the Chairperson intends to convoke a meeting of the Deliberation Committee, he or she shall notify each member of the time, venue, and agenda items for the meeting at least seven days before the date the meeting is to be held; provided, this shall not apply in urgent or unavoidable circumstances.

(4) A majority of all incumbent members of the Deliberation Committee shall constitute a quorum; and any resolution thereby shall be adopted upon the concurring votes of at least a majority of those present.

(5) The Deliberation Committee shall have one administrative secretary, who shall be appointed by the Chairperson from among public officials affiliated with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

(6) Members who attend meetings of the Deliberation Committee may be paid allowances within budgetary limits; provided, this shall not apply where members who are public officials attend a meeting in direct connection with their duties.

(7) The Deliberation Committee shall prepare and keep meeting minutes.

(8) Other than those prescribed in paragraphs (1) through (7), matters necessary for operating the Deliberation Committee shall be determined by the Chairperson following resolution by the Deliberation Committee.

Article 12(Composition and operation of working coordination council) #

(1) The working coordination council under Article 10(5) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "working coordination council") shall be comprised of up to 20 members, including a chairperson.

(2) The working coordination council shall be chaired by the 2nd Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups; and shall be comprised of persons appointed by the head of the relevant agency, from among members in general service of the Senior Executive Service of the central administrative agency to which members stipulated in the subparagraphs of Article 10(1) belong. <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>

(3) The chairperson of the working coordination council may have members in general service of the Senior Executive Service of the central administrative agency attend a meeting of the council to state their opinions, where he or she deems it necessary.

(4) The working coordination council shall consult on and coordinate the following:

1. Matters that require prior working-level consultation and coordination with respect to the agenda of the Deliberation Committee;

2. Other matters for which working-level coordination is requested by the Chairperson of the Deliberation Committee.

(5) Article 11 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the operation of the working coordination council. In such cases, the "Deliberation Committee" shall be construed as the "working coordination council," and the "Chairperson" as the "chairperson of the working coordination council."

Article 13(Composition and operation of special subcommittees) #

(1) A special sectional subcommittee established under the working coordination council in accordance with Article 10(6) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "subcommittee") shall consist of up to 10 members, including one chairperson, and the chairperson of such subcommittee shall be elected from among and by the members stipulated in paragraph 2(1).

(2) The members of a subcommittee shall be the following persons:

1. Persons commissioned by the chairperson of the working coordination council in consideration of their expertise and gender equality, from among persons who have extensive experience and knowledge related to micro enterprises;

2. Persons designated by the heads of the relevant institutions, from among public officials in general service of Grade IV or higher who belong to the following agencies;

a. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups;

b. Central administrative agencies related to the operation of each subcommittee.

(3) The term of office for the members commissioned pursuant to paragraph (2)1 shall be two years.

(4) A meeting of a subcommittee shall be convoked at the request of the chairperson of the working coordination council; or when deemed necessary by the chairperson of the subcommittee.

(5) The chairperson of a subcommittee shall report matters deliberated on and resolved by the subcommittee to the chairperson of the working coordination council.

(6) Article 11 shall apply mutatis mutandis to matters regarding the operation of a subcommittee, other than those prescribed in paragraphs (4) and (5). In such cases, the "Deliberation Committee" shall be construed as the "subcommittee," and the "Chairperson" as the "chairperson of the subcommittee," respectively.

Article 13-2(Scope of provision of information on micro enterprises) #

"Information specified by Presidential Decree, including findings from the current situation survey under Article 9" in Article 28(2) of the Act means the following information:

1. Findings from current situation surveys under Article 9 of the Act and statistical information on micro enterprises;

2. Information on policies formulated and implemented by local governments to support, foster, and protect micro enterprises;

3. Information on institutions established by local governments to support micro enterprises;

4. Other information similar to those provided for in subparagraphs 1 through 3, which the local government deems necessary for the establishment of micro enterprises.

[This Article Added on Mar. 9, 2021]

Article 14(Criteria for imposition of administrative fines) #

The criteria for imposing administrative fines pursuant to Article 37(1) of the Act shall be as specified in the Appendix.