The nominee for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Wednesday the South Korean economy can make the next leap forward when venture firms and small businesses are successful.

Hong Jong-haak, a former lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, made the remark two days after President Moon Jae-in appointed him to head the newly created office.

"During the election campaign, I and others envisioned the four pillars of economic growth based on jobs, incomes, co-prosperity and innovation, and made the pledge to create a new ministry aimed at supporting small and venture businesses," Hong wrote in a Facebook post.


"As a professor, a civic activist and a politician, I have claimed that SMEs, startups, small business owners and self-employed people should do well to make the South Korean economy move forward."

The 58-year-old said he feels "grave responsibility" of shaping policies that can effectively support small businesses and vowed to share his visions during an upcoming parliamentary hearing.

Hong taught economics at Gachon University in Seongnam, south of Seoul, from 1992-2002, and served as a senior official for several liberal economic activists groups, including the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, before going into politics.

In 2012, he won a seat under the proportional representation system for the then-opposition Democratic Party and has proposed several economic bills during his four-year term. He served as a policy adviser in Moon's election camp. (Yonhap)