Songpa-gu 'Participation in Rent Reduction' Continues

One Month of Rent Reduction Campaign... 770 Million Won Rent Reduction Benefits at 252 Stores

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa District, is making a thank-you and encouragement call to a landlord who reduced the rent on the 26th of last month.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) announced on the 18th that the ‘Rent Reduction Movement,’ which breathes hope into the local economy hit hard by COVID-19, is spreading throughout the district.

As the impact of COVID-19 has continued for a long time, with a social atmosphere refraining from outdoor activities, consumer sentiment has shrunk, and the management difficulties of small business owners and self-employed individuals have deepened.

To overcome this local economic downturn, Songpa-gu has been actively promoting the ‘Rent Reduction Movement’ since last month.

The district stated that the initiative, which originally started mainly among market merchants and individual building owners, is now spreading to large shopping centers and multi-tenant buildings.

As a result, as of the 17th of this month, 252 stores in the district have benefited from a total rent reduction of 770 million KRW.

According to the district, recently, Company A located in Munjeong-dong reduced rent by a total of 520 million KRW for 94 stores within a corporation-owned officetel.

Also, the Bangi Market Shopping District Promotion Cooperative began by reducing rent for stores renting space in the cooperative’s building and hung banners throughout the market encouraging building owners affiliated with the cooperative to join the movement. Within five days of the cooperative’s campaign launch, seven building owners in Bangi Market expressed their intention to participate.

Recently, webtoon artist Kian84 also announced his participation by reducing rent by 20% for March and April for tenants in a building he owns in Seokchon-dong.

Songpa-gu stated that it is also reviewing various support measures for building owners who have reduced rent.

Following the government’s ‘Comprehensive Measures for Minimizing the Impact of COVID-19 and Early Recovery of Livelihoods and Economy,’ the district plans to actively promote specific support measures such as income tax and corporate tax credits for landlords who reduce rent once these are finalized.

In addition, since Seoul City plans to support building repair and maintenance costs proportionally to the amount of rent reduction for building owners, the district intends to continuously promote participation through professional organizations, private groups, and merchant associations.

Furthermore, recently, Songpa-gu Mayor Park Seong-su expressed his gratitude by making phone calls and sending letters to building owners who have become role models in the community.

Mayor Park Seong-su of Songpa-gu said, “The decision to reduce rent in these difficult times is a hope and precious driving force for small business owners to stand up again,” and added, “We will do our best to gather all our capabilities so that the daily lives of residents can be restored and the local economy can regain vitality.”

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