"SMEs Join Remote Work Efforts"…Response to Overcome COVID-19 Crisis (Comprehensive)

Kim Ki-moon, President of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (right), and Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, are attending an emergency meeting related to COVID-19 held at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 2nd, engaging in conversation.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] On the 2nd, the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector held an emergency meeting with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon to discuss measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and to restore economic vitality.

The meeting took place at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, with about 20 attendees including representatives from the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the SME sector. Both parties agreed that the damage to small business owners and SMEs due to the COVID-19 situation is becoming severe. They decided to cooperate closely not only to overcome the current crisis but also to revitalize domestic demand and restore economic vitality in the future.

Mayor Park Won-soon, visiting the Federation of SMEs, stated, "If there are business owners who are considering expanding telecommuting and flexible work arrangements, I ask you to actively participate starting today."

Mayor Park emphasized that the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is for the entire society to thoroughly implement social distancing for a certain period. He urged expanded participation across all sectors of society in the 'temporary pause' initiative.

He said, "In particular, by directly listening to the voices of SMEs and small business owners and simultaneously providing practical support such as establishing telecommuting systems for SMEs, we will lead this as a nationwide movement."

He also stressed, "On the other hand, I will actively communicate with domestic and international economic figures to prepare measures to compensate for the economic losses caused by the temporary pause."

Kim Ki-moon, President of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (sixth from the left), and Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul (fifth from the left), attended an emergency meeting related to COVID-19 held on the 2nd at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, Seoul, demonstrating their determination to overcome the crisis by controlling the spread and restoring economic vitality with small and medium business owners.

In response, Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, said, "SMEs will take the lead more than anyone else in overcoming this national crisis," and emphasized, "Along with cooperation, bold and strong economic recovery policies must be urgently implemented given the severe management difficulties faced by SMEs due to the COVID-19 situation."

The SMEs attending the meeting proposed measures including ▲support for distributing thermometers and thermal detectors at workplaces ▲emergency funds and smart factory establishment support for mask manufacturing companies ▲local tax reductions for landlords participating in the Good Landlord Movement among SMEs in Seoul ▲free support for disinfection upon request by small business owners ▲compensation payments for shops contributing to virus spread prevention ▲and expansion of employment retention subsidies.

Mayor Park said, "I appreciate the Good Landlord Movement. If landlords reduce rent, we will reduce local taxes. For disinfection support for small business owners, if you gather information on the amount and timing of disinfection needed, we will do our best to support."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to further expand the emergency funds currently supported at a scale of 500 billion won and is reviewing new support measures so that small business owners facing difficulties in receiving financial support due to low credit ratings can also receive assistance.

Chairman Kim said, "It would be desirable to implement bold SME product purchasing systems such as the 'Small-Amount Private Contract Recommendation System' to ensure money circulates among small enterprises and small business owners. Also, a joint hosting of the '(tentative name) Seoul Festival' for economic revitalization is possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.