Solar panel installation on highway sound barriers will be permitted, and rest areas nationwide will offer customized background music powered by artificial intelligence. Standards for installing liquid hydrogen charging stations — long criticized by businesses as a prime example of "thorn under the fingernail" regulations — will also be eased, significantly reducing the burden of expanding charging infrastructure.
The government announced these measures as part of its "Plan to Rationalize Hidden Regulations of Public Institutions on Business Sites" at a joint emergency economic headquarters and economy-related ministers' meeting held at the Government Seoul Complex on Thursday.
Although public institutions are not subject to regulation under the Framework Act on Administrative Regulations, they have effectively exerted regulatory influence on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through internal rules and guidelines. Critics have long called for reforming public institution regulations closely tied to business activities to ease the burden on SMEs and boost the livelihoods economy.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance, together with public institutions and the SME ombudsman, identified 251 hidden regulations — across 109 participating institutions — that cause difficulties for businesses and agreed to improve them.
A total of 44 entry-related regulations covering business operations and site selection will be reformed. Korea Gas Corp. will ease restrictions on vent stack locations and boundary distance requirements for liquid hydrogen charging facility installations. The change addresses an inconsistency in which liquid hydrogen stations faced stricter safety standards than gaseous hydrogen stations, despite the fact that vented liquid hydrogen is also gaseous and gaseous hydrogen has no dispersion range limits. The reform is expected to lower facility installation costs, including site acquisition, and help expand charging infrastructure.
Six entities including Korea Southern Power Co. will eliminate penalty deductions for bankruptcy or corporate reorganization history when evaluating supplier qualifications under the power generation equipment supplier system. Companies' financial standing will instead be assessed through credit ratings and similar measures.
Solar power generation using highway sound barrier facilities will also be allowed. Korea Expressway Corp. will establish procedures and standards to permit installation and operation of solar-generating sound panels on noise barriers built for residential areas near expressways.
Measures to ease the technology development burden on SMEs (39 items) will also be pursued. Fee reductions for water industry-related testing, inspection, and analytical measurement will be expanded from tenant companies to all SMEs and mid-sized firms. Public institutions' mutual growth cooperation funds will be used to subsidize AI adoption costs aimed at improving business productivity.
Procurement rationalization (123 items) will also be advanced. The scope of price escalation agreements in procurement contracts will be expanded, and consulting for subsidiary organizations will be provided to promote adoption. The defect repair guarantee deposit rate for goods manufacturing and purchasing will be lowered from 5 percent to 3 percent, in line with the Public Procurement Service standard.
Business-related administrative procedures (45 items) will be significantly streamlined. The payment collection period for companies selling through public institutions such as public home shopping channels and Korea Railroad Corp. will be shortened from 10 days after the settlement closing date to two days — moving the timeline up by one week.
Support for customized music production at rest areas will be expanded to all 211 rest areas nationwide. Playing music in public spaces incurs streaming fees and copyright royalties, which has constrained the use of background music at rest areas and gas stations. Korea Expressway Corp. will produce and provide customized music using generative AI programs.
The government plans to ensure these measures are implemented promptly through each public institution's internal procedures and will conduct a compliance review in the second half of this year.
"We will expand regulatory communication channels within public institutions from the current 144 to 153, and extend existing channels from headquarters level down to regional units," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yoon-cheol said. "We will more actively identify and improve hidden regulations."
