Local Governments Nationwide Expand Public Procurement of Village Enterprises Affected by COVID-19

Support for Sales Channels and Distribution of Daegu·Gyeongbuk Products

The direct transaction market for local specialties held in celebration of the Lunar New Year at the lobby of the Government Seoul Office Building last year. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The government plans to support village enterprises struggling due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) by holding markets to promote product sales and increasing support for labor costs and building rents.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 16th that it has prepared the "Emergency Support Plan for Village Enterprises Responding to COVID-19," which will be implemented starting from the 17th.

First, to promote the sales of village enterprise products in the heavily affected areas of Daegu and Gyeongbuk, a "Win-Win Market" will be held together with Homeplus as soon as the COVID-19 situation is under control. Starting with the Chilgok branch in Daegu, win-win markets will be opened by region, and 50 million KRW from the Rural Win-Win Fund of the Foundation for Cooperation between Large, Small and Medium Enterprises and Agriculture and Fisheries will be provided to support the sales channels and distribution of village enterprises in Daegu and Gyeongbuk.

Additionally, to help village enterprises nationwide overcome difficulties, the budget for village enterprise startup support funds will be reallocated so that 17 metropolitan cities and provinces can actively use it for emergency support according to local circumstances. Each city and province will establish its own emergency support plan and use the reallocated budget to provide quarantine supplies or support sales and distribution for village enterprises experiencing reduced sales.

Local governments and public institutions are encouraged to purchase social economy products, including those from village enterprises, and to set target quantities and establish public procurement plans by city and province, thereby promoting the expansion of public procurement nationwide.

Furthermore, this year, newly designated village enterprises will be allowed to use up to 30% of their project budget (20 million to 50 million KRW) for labor costs and building rental fees. Previously, only up to 20% of the total project budget could be used for these expenses.

In addition, pre-education before village enterprise designation can be completed after COVID-19, and the designation procedures will be eased by minimizing on-site inspections, enabling village enterprises to focus on damage recovery and business normalization.

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