[Interview] Park Seong-su, Songpa District Mayor: "From Quarantine Officer to CEO Leading Local Economic Recovery"

KRW 23.3 Billion 2020 Supplementary Budget Compiled... To Support Small Business Stability, KRW 10 Billion Songpa Sarang Gift Certificates Originally Scheduled for June Issuance Moved Up to April 1

District Mayor Park said, "We will do our best to swiftly implement policies to revitalize the local economy and restore the daily lives of residents," adding, "We will use the experience of COVID-19 as a foundation to prepare for a stronger future."

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] "Now is the time to exert efforts for local economic recovery not only as a community quarantine officer but also with the mindset of a CEO."

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa District, stated in an interview with Asia Economy about two months after the COVID-19 outbreak, "There are forecasts that South Korea's economic growth rate will be only 1% this year," and added, "We are implementing various policies to save the local economy on the brink of collapse."

Songpa District allocated 23.3 billion KRW in the 2020 supplementary budget to supplement quarantine infrastructure and assign unavoidable funds for local economic recovery.

Among these, the ‘Songpa Love Gift Certificate’ stands out. Mayor Park explained the reason for the urgency, saying, "To stimulate consumption contracted by COVID-19 and increase sales to help stabilize the management of local small business owners, we advanced the issuance of the Songpa Love Gift Certificate, originally scheduled for June, to April 1."

The ‘Songpa Love Gift Certificate’ is a mobile gift certificate that can only be used within Songpa District. It is worth a total of 10 billion KRW and can be used at about 9,000 Zero Pay affiliated stores in Songpa, including academies, restaurants, pharmacies, and convenience stores.

Considering the damage to the local economy caused by COVID-19, a temporary 15% discount and 5% cashback are applied, and even after that, a 10% discount is offered until 2 billion KRW worth is issued. The monthly purchase limit per person is 500,000 KRW, but it has been raised to 1 million KRW per month until July.

Due to strong public response, the 10 billion KRW worth was sold out within eight days of issuance. Additional issuance in May and June is under consideration.

Mayor Park emphasized, "To align with the purpose of revitalizing the local economy by increasing small business sales, the gift certificates cannot be used at large franchises such as E-mart, Lotte Mart, Daiso, or in luxury and entertainment industries."

In accordance with recommendations from the government and Seoul City, cash support is provided to multi-use facilities that have participated in long-term closures. The main targets are PC rooms, karaoke rooms, dance academies, and fitness centers, which have a high risk of group infections. Businesses that participated in closures during the recommended suspension period will receive 100,000 KRW per day of closure, up to a maximum of 1 million KRW. However, they must close continuously for at least eight days. After verifying the closure, the support funds will be deposited into the representative’s bank account after April 15.

Mayor Park continued, "On March 17, I visited a small local mart called Nadeul Store in the area, and due to the prolonged ‘social distancing,’ the number of residents shopping offline has decreased, causing difficulties from reduced customers," and as a countermeasure, "We have implemented free delivery services at all Nadeul Stores."

‘Nadeul Store’ is a neighborhood supermarket with a store area of 165㎡ or less, selected in 2015 through the Small and Medium Venture Business Department’s project to enhance competitiveness. Since 2018, Songpa District has invested district funds to operate free delivery services to help these stores secure regular customers and strengthen their management base.

Furthermore, since March 18, the ‘free delivery service,’ which was previously available at only 13 locations, has been expanded to all 34 Nadeul Stores in the district. Convenient ready-to-cook foods such as meal kits, instant meals, retort pouch foods, and canned goods can be comfortably delivered to homes.

Mayor Park explained, "This provides convenience to residents who avoid going outside due to COVID-19, as well as to vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled, and neighborhood supermarkets can expect a twofold benefit of increased sales and securing regular customers."

He also said, "Although the government and Seoul City have prepared various support measures for small business owners affected by COVID-19, many fail to receive benefits due to lack of information and complicated application procedures," adding, "The ‘Visiting Small Business Hope Planner’ service is receiving great response from these small business owners." He further noted, "Songpa is the only autonomous district in Seoul that provides a service visiting local small business owners directly to assist them."

Hope Planners, who began activities in August last year, visit small business owners one by one to clearly guide them through financial support procedures, required documents, and application methods, helping with applications. From January to March this year, they have handled about 2,500 cases.

In addition, to support low-income and vulnerable groups facing employment difficulties due to COVID-19, the district has expanded the ‘Public Work Project’ and assigned workers to local quarantine-related tasks. Moreover, efforts are being made to strengthen the competitiveness of small business owners through support for marketing activities and market development for small and medium enterprises with sharply decreased sales, youth startup challenge projects, and the Songpa Safe Store initiative.

Mayor Park said, "We will do our best to swiftly implement policies to revitalize the local economy and restore the daily lives of residents," adding, "We will use the experience of COVID-19 as a foundation to prepare for a stronger future."

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