Jongno-gu Allocates Emergency Supplementary Budget of 3.3 Billion Won to Overcome COVID-19 Crisis

For Residents Threatened by COVID-19 Livelihood: ▲Public Job Provision ▲Small Business Loan Support to Overcome Economic Challenges... SME Development Fund Loans Increased from 2.2 Billion to 3.8 Billion Won This Year, to Be Quickly Provided to Small and Medium Entrepreneurs

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Jongno-gu (Mayor Kim Young-jong) has urgently prepared a supplementary budget for COVID-19 to recover the local economy, which has been stagnated due to the impact of COVID-19, and to support residents experiencing economic difficulties.

The supplementary budget totals 3.3 billion KRW, with the allocation details as follows: ▲1 billion KRW for creating emergency public jobs for Jongno-gu residents facing economic crises due to COVID-19 ▲560 million KRW from the disaster management fund for quarantine activities and protection of vulnerable groups ▲1 billion KRW from the small and medium enterprise development fund to support loans for small business owners ▲870 million KRW in reserve funds to actively respond to unpredictable variables such as local government shares in government support policies announced consecutively.

Additionally, 11 members of the district council voluntarily reduced part of their monthly allowances and domestic and overseas training expenses to participate in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, allocating these funds to the disaster management fund. The SME development fund loan amount will be increased from 2.2 billion KRW to 3.8 billion KRW this year to provide prompt support to small and medium-sized business owners.

So far, Jongno-gu has strengthened quarantine measures for multi-use facilities such as religious facilities and nursing homes and banned gatherings at Gwanghwamun Square and in front of the Blue House.

Moreover, the district has supplied public masks and thoroughly managed overseas entrants, dedicating all administrative efforts to protect residents' health and safety from COVID-19, striving to be a reliable support for residents.

As part of this, 2.7 billion KRW has been allocated for the temporary living support project for low-income groups, 6.18 billion KRW for Seoul City's emergency disaster living expenses, and 1.95 billion KRW for temporary child-rearing support, totaling 10.83 billion KRW, which is being promptly disbursed to residents facing difficulties in daily life.

Furthermore, to support self-employed individuals and small business owners actively participating in social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the district provides up to 1 million KRW in business suspension support funds to private multi-use facilities such as PC rooms, karaoke rooms, sports facilities, and small academies. Additionally, living expenses of 300,000 to 500,000 KRW per month are provided to households facing real-life difficulties who do not receive legal support, funded by donations collected by employees.

The district will continuously prepare various support measures while monitoring the situation and will consider a second supplementary budget if necessary.

Mayor Kim Young-jong stated, “This COVID-19 supplementary budget was prepared focusing on restoring damage to residents in economic crisis and revitalizing the local economy. We hope it will serve as a stepping stone for the local community to alleviate anxiety about COVID-19 and for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners who have suffered economic damage to stand up again.”

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