벤처기업의 활성화를 위한 법 정책적 과제

As the Asian financial crisis of the mid 1990s hit the Korean economy and pushed up the unemployment rate dramatically, the Korean government felt strongly the need to bring changes to the overall economic structure, which it determined was too dependent on conglomerates and therefore unable to overcome barriers to growth. Consequently, it promoted the so-called "New Sprout Theory," which advocated the need to nurture and support young venture companies and allow them opportunities to thrive on their creative ideas and to invent innovative technology. Although there were already two laws - the Small and Medium Industry Basic Law and the SME Start-up Support Act - providing small and medium-size businesses and start-up companies with legal support, it was the Special Measures Law on Venture Business Support of 1997 (or "Venture Business Law") that enabled venture firms to gain access to more systemic and substantial support. Since then this law has functioned as the main device to nurture and provide funding for such companies. Helped by this policy shift and in the rapidly changing business environment in Korea, most venture companies were able to attract more attention from the public and were able to play new and important economic roles for society; however, a number of such firms were found guilty of engaging in numerous illegal acts, which disappointed many people and led them to have doubts about venture business in general. The reality is that many of Korea`s venture companies have yet to materialize their creative potential and show any satisfactory performance, which will be the only way for them to meet the expectations of both the government and the public and to match the importance given to them by society. This essay reviews the current status of Korea`s venture business related to policy enforcement and related legal systems and attempts to find ways for improvement and movement in a more desirable direction, especially ways to revitalize the country`s venture businesses as a whole. Part II lists definitions of venture companies and business types. Part III analyzes major policies and legislation affecting venture businesses. In Part IV, the author suggests a few directions for more effective policies and legal systems as means to revitalize venture businesses in Korea.