CES Award-Winning Tech Held Back by Domestic Regulations, Pursues Overseas Markets

Promising domestic tech companies that received CES Innovation Awards are facing difficulties commercializing in Korea due to a lack of relevant regulations or support measures, and unclear responsible ministries. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and venture companies, despite having their technology recognized in the global market, are increasingly failing to shine in the market due to inadequate domestic legal and certification systems or inter-ministerial turf wars. A joint survey by The Daily and the law firm Sejong found that at least 20 companies have won CES Innovation Awards over the past five years but are experiencing difficulties in commercialization.

Company B, which developed a robot capable of recovering pollutants, separating oil and water, and storing them during small-scale maritime oil spills, received a CES 2024 Innovation Award. However, due to ambiguous and differing interpretations of jurisdiction among ministries, it is pursuing overseas market entry before domestic market expansion. Company A, which developed a device to prevent dry eye syndrome, a condition common due to increased digital device use, also received a CES 2024 Innovation Award but is facing difficulties launching in Korea due to the absence of relevant certification categories. Company C, which developed a smart airbag to protect the human body during falls, is also considering overseas expansion, deeming its use difficult in the domestic market due to prohibitions on using uncertified equipment under relevant laws. These companies are seeking a way forward in overseas markets as they face challenges in domestic commercialization.

The unreasonable regulations surrounding innovative technologies are analyzed as a 'regulatory lag' phenomenon, where systems designed for past economic conditions fail to keep pace with the speed of technological advancement. The government also acknowledges these problems. In response, President Lee Jae-myung, during the first meeting of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee on the 15th, ordered a transition to a negative regulatory system, which specifies only what the government must prohibit and allows everything else. Heo Shin-hoe, a research fellow at Sejong Law Firm's Legislative Strategy Advisory Group, expressed hope for the introduction of a negative regulation system, which has been difficult to apply within Korea's legal framework, and emphasized the need for swift improvements to existing systems that are difficult to reform due to vested interests or stakeholders.