Gov`t to Form `Idea Bank` to Spur Biz Creativity

A new government-run “idea bank” will commercialize creative ideas such as a technique for making soy sauce and a story for animation as early as April, the Small and Medium Business Administration said yesterday.

The government will help idea holders sell their goods and services and provide additional benefits such as tax breaks and subsidies for factory construction.

The small business authority submitted an interim report on a plan to promote “one-person creative enterprises” to the presidential office yesterday. The project is aimed at creating jobs and finding new growth engines, and will begin on a trial basis.

A one-person creative enterprise refers to an individual, small business or single corporation that utilizes creative ideas, unique skills and intellectual property rights in their operations.

“We will help housewives who are good at making food or individuals with a good understanding of software to run their own businesses,” said an official at the small business administration. “Certain experts say creative corporations will create another venture boom like the one started by small IT companies in the late 1990s.”

To foster such businesses, the government will set up an “idea biz bank” on the Web to gather, select and assess creative ideas.

Laws will be enacted to help such businesses sell products and services under private contracts.

Other measures under consideration include allowing them to set up factories in areas reserved for houses and school facilities, lowering electricity bills, and subsidizing half of the copyright registration fee.

One-person creative enterprises in Seoul will receive the same benefits as those in provinces, such as exemptions on income and corporate taxes for four years.

koh@donga.com