Minister Han Seong-suk, the nominee for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, noted, "During my time as the CEO of Naver, I had planned how small businesses would enter the digital world through 'Project Flower.' This is an area in which I excel."
During a hearing at the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee on the 15th, nominee Han responded to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kwon Hyang-yeop, who pointed out that, "Based on your experience and what you have done, there doesn't seem to be strength in small business owners, neighborhood commercial areas, or traditional markets."
The 'Project Flower' led by nominee Han at that time is a project for the coexistence of small businesses. It supported the online business and funding of small businesses that entered Naver's Smart Store.
Nominee Han joined as a founding member of the portal site Empas and served as the head of the search business division, where she devised "open search" that allowed showing search results from databases of other portals. She then moved to NHN, the predecessor of Naver, where she managed the search quality center and service department, overseeing all services. She is a first-generation information technology (IT) expert, having served as the CEO of Naver from 2017 to 2022.
People Power Party lawmaker Park Hyung-soo also mentioned, "I question whether small businesses and small business owners who need protection from the tyranny of large corporations can be represented in the work."
Nominee Han stated, "Smart Store was created with the idea that small businesses and SMEs could work together with the platform provider, Naver."
Regarding the controversy over the alleged improper gifting of real estate to her mother, she stated her intention to pay taxes in accordance with the procedures. Previously, the opposition People Power Party raised suspicions that nominee Han had resided with her mother in her apartment in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, and when they moved to her current house in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, in March 2022, she had registered her mother as the head of the household of the apartment, effectively gifting it improperly.
Nominee Han explained, "I will handle the taxes related to my mother's house and, as my mother needs funds for her taxes, I will sell Naver stocks once I become Minister to ensure my mother can pay the gift tax."