Sejong-si Provides Uniform 1 Million Won Support to COVID-19 Affected Stores... Expands Local Currency Issuance

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Sejong City will provide a uniform support of 1 million won to local stores affected by the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Additionally, the city plans to revitalize the local economy by expanding the issuance of local currency.

According to the city on the 20th, the stores eligible for uniform support are those recently visited by confirmed COVID-19 patients, including 45 restaurants and cafes within the city.

These stores will be given 1 million won as an initial uniform support. Furthermore, after confirming the scale of damage such as sales decline, additional support may be provided. At the same time, measures to defer local tax collection and tax audits will also be pursued.

Support will also be provided for confirmed COVID-19 patients within the region. The city will pay living support funds to those hospitalized or quarantined after being diagnosed, in accordance with the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

Separately, the city will significantly increase the issuance scale of the local currency ‘Yeominjeon’ from the originally planned 7 billion won to 37 billion won. This measure reflects the calculation that, due to the nature of local currency, the speed of fund circulation within the region is fast at issuance and there is no concern about capital outflow, which will help revitalize the depressed local economy.

Along with the expanded issuance of local currency, the city plans to encourage employees of research institutes and public institutions located in the region to use Yeominjeon and extend the so-called ‘cashback’ event, which returns 10% of the payment amount, from April to July for an additional three months.

Lee Chun-hee, mayor of Sejong City, said, "As the COVID-19 situation prolongs, the difficulties of small business owners and self-employed individuals are increasing," adding, "The city will discover and promote support projects that help local small business owners and self-employed individuals in connection with government policies."

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