Gwangju City Provides Full Wage Support for Small Business and SME Owners

On the 26th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, announced the '4th Livelihood Stabilization Measures to Protect the Local Economy,' which includes the first-ever support plan by a local government for 'Employment Retention for Small Business Owners and SMEs.' Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City will fully support the wages borne by business owners to maintain employment for small business owners and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggling with decreased sales due to COVID-19.

On the afternoon of the 26th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, announced the 'Small Business Owners and SMEs Employment Maintenance' support plan as the 4th livelihood stabilization measure to protect the local economy, becoming the first local government to do so, at a briefing room in City Hall.

Starting from the 1st of next month, Gwangju will fully support the employment maintenance burden of business owners for small and medium-sized workplaces with fewer than 300 employees, in connection with the 'Employment Maintenance Subsidy System' operated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The support targets small business owners and SMEs who are maintaining employment while conducting business suspension or leave due to difficulties in business operations caused by decreased sales and production volume from COVID-19.

The support amount covers the remaining 10% of wages paid by the business owner to workers in the form of suspension or leave allowances (up to 66,000 to 70,000 KRW per day), excluding the Ministry of Employment and Labor's support amount (90% of wages).

The support period is three months starting next month, and the expected number of beneficiaries is about 17,000 people. However, to prioritize support for micro-businesses with limited resources, the support scale is limited to 50 employees per company.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, "The best support for workers is to prevent unemployment, and the best regional economic stabilization measure is for companies to maintain employment without dismissing employees during difficult times," adding, "This 4th livelihood stabilization measure focuses on alleviating the wage burden on companies experiencing management crises due to the COVID-19 situation to protect local jobs."

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