"Can I Borrow Money?"... Small Business Owners' Growing Worries Amid COVID-19

by Kim Hyojin

Published 07 Mar.2020 14:27(KST)

Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), a temporary closure notice is posted at a store in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 4th./Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] The voices of small business owners struggling with financial difficulties are growing louder due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the Financial Services Commission on the 7th, from last month’s 7th, when the government announced financial support measures related to COVID-19 damages, until the 3rd of this month, about 89,000 consultations and support inquiries were made through the Financial Supervisory Service’s 'Financial Difficulty Counseling Center' and consultation windows of policy financial institutions, commercial banks, and card companies.

This surge in inquiries occurred from late last month to early this month. From the 7th to the 18th of last month, about 17,000 consultations and inquiries were received.

The Small Enterprise and Market Service, responsible for executing small business policy funds, and the Regional Credit Guarantee Foundations, which act as guarantors for small business owners, received particularly high numbers of consultations and inquiries, approximately 37,400 and 22,800 respectively.

By industry, consultations and inquiries from the restaurant and food service sector were the most numerous. By content, the majority were inquiries about new financial support.

During this period, approximately 1.984 trillion KRW was provided through policy financial institutions such as KDB Industrial Bank, IBK Industrial Bank, and Credit Guarantee Foundations, and about 816 billion KRW through private financial companies including commercial banks and card companies, totaling around 2.8 trillion KRW in financial support related to COVID-19 damages.