Early Opening of Four New Small Business Support Centers for COVID-19

Jonghwan Jo, President of the Small Enterprise and Market Service (fourth from the left clockwise), attended the opening ceremony of the Daegu Western Small Business Support Center on the 20th and took a commemorative photo with officials while cutting the ribbon.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS) announced on the 20th that it will open four new Small Business Support Centers, originally scheduled to open in the second half of this year, ahead of schedule.

This early opening was arranged to enhance the convenience of use for small business owners affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and to strengthen on-site support. It is a measure to respond to the explosively increasing demand for small loans from small business owners due to COVID-19 and to reinforce on-site support such as consulting and education.

The new Small Business Support Centers will open in Sokcho, Gangwon; Hanam, Gyeonggi; Yeongju, Gyeongbuk; and the western region of Daegu. The Daegu Western Center will begin full operations with an opening ceremony on the day. The Sokcho, Hanam, and Yeongju regional centers have already started operations since the 13th.

SEMAS expects that the establishment of these new centers will improve accessibility for small business owners and contribute to revitalizing the local economy by readjusting the jurisdiction of small business support. With the new openings, the number of Small Business Support Centers nationwide will expand from 62 to 66.

First, the Sokcho regional center will cover Sokcho City, Yangyang County, Goseong County, and Inje County, reducing the travel time for existing Sokcho area clients who previously had to spend over 90 minutes visiting the Gangneung Center to just 30 minutes.

The Hanam regional center will cover Hanam City, Guri City, Namyangju City, and Yangpyeong County. It was established to support small business owners in Hanam City and surrounding cities, where the scale of the local commercial district is expected to expand due to the development of Wirye New Town and improvements in metropolitan transportation.

Additionally, the Yeongju regional center will cover Yeongju City, Mungyeong City, Yecheon County, and Bonghwa County. The eight cities and counties under the jurisdiction of the Andong Center, which had the largest coverage area among nationwide centers, have been divided, making close support for local small business owners easier.

Lastly, the Daegu Western regional center will cover Dalseo District and Dalseong County in Daegu. Among metropolitan cities, Daegu has the highest number of small business owners per center, and there has been continuous demand for new centers. Especially, Daegu has been declared a special disaster area due to COVID-19. The opening of the Western Center is expected to help support the revitalization of the depressed local economy.

The Small Business Support Centers will prioritize support for small business owners affected by COVID-19. Subsequently, they will lead efforts to foster competitive small business owners through counseling and education for startup and management improvement, policy fund support, and collaboration support. They will also support merchant education and marketing to revitalize traditional markets.

Jo Bonghwan, Chairman of SEMAS, said, "The early opening of these new regional centers is a preemptive measure to closely support small business owners affected by COVID-19 and to actively promote the revitalization of 6.3 million small business owners and 1,450 traditional markets in the future."

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