9 out of 10 Small Business Owners Feel No Impact from the 'Good Landlord Movement'

On the 10th, Myeongdong in Jung-gu, Seoul is quiet due to the impact of COVID-19.
Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Small business owners struggling with management difficulties due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) are pinning their hopes on the ‘Good Landlord Movement,’ but the perceived effectiveness appears to be low. Nine out of ten respondents said they have not benefited from it.

On the 10th, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business conducted a ‘Survey on Support Policies for Small Business Owners in Response to the COVID-19 Situation’ targeting 1,080 small business owners over nine days from the 4th. When asked whether the Good Landlord Movement had a practical effect, 9 out of 10 (90.3%) answered ‘No.’ Only 9.7% responded ‘Yes.’

The Good Landlord Movement is a voluntary initiative by building owners to reduce or waive rent for tenants who are small business owners facing difficulties due to the spread of COVID-19.

However, the expectations of small business owners for the Good Landlord Movement were found to be high. Five out of ten small business owners responded positively (‘Very positive expectations’ 28.7% · ‘Positive expectations’ 21.1%). This was followed by ‘Only a few will benefit temporarily’ (34.1%), ‘Neutral’ (8.5%), and ‘No effect at all’ (7.6%).

When asked about improvements for the Good Landlord Movement, 6 out of 10 (60.6%) said, ‘Rent support should be provided directly to tenant small business owners, not landlords.’ This was followed by ▲ ‘Establishing additional support measures for good landlords’ (14.2%) ▲ ‘Active government-level promotion plans for the Good Landlord Movement’ (13.4%) ▲ ‘Others’ (5.3%) ▲ ‘Satisfied with the current Good Landlord Movement’ (3.6%) ▲ ‘It will only worsen the national fiscal situation such as tax revenue losses’ (3%).

A representative from the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business said, “The Good Landlord Movement still seems to affect only some small business owners, so its effects have not yet spread evenly across the board.”

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