Yeosu Mayor Kwon Oh-bong Holds Roundtable with Small Business Association... "Let's Revive Yeosu's Economy"

Expansion of Free Usage Hours for Public Parking Lots and Support for Special Guarantee Fees on Small Business Loans Promised

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Yeosu City announced on the 8th that Mayor Kwon Oh-bong of Yeosu and 15 members of the Yeosu Small Business Association held a Sarangbang roundtable meeting at the education hall on the 2nd floor of Yeosu Fish Market.

This Sarangbang roundtable meeting was the first to be held since February and reflected Mayor Kwon's determination to support local small business owners and revitalize the stagnant local commercial district.

At the meeting, Mayor Kwon emphasized the social distancing quarantine rules in daily life and stated that administrative efforts would be focused on revitalizing the local commercial district through measures such as "expanding free usage hours of public parking lots," "supporting special guarantee fees for small business loans," and "expanding affiliated stores for Yeosu Love Gift Certificates."

He also mentioned considering the development of a public delivery app by gathering opinions from the local industry to prevent the tyranny of monopolistic delivery apps, citing Gunsan City as an example.

One attendee requested Mayor Kwon to "expand the free usage time of public parking lots from the existing 1 hour to 2 hours" to revitalize the commercial district, noting that "tourists have noticeably decreased due to COVID-19."

In response, Mayor Kwon said, "We will extend the free usage time of off-street public parking lots to 2 hours until we overcome COVID-19," adding, "If complaints arise later due to increased parking lot usage and decreased turnover caused by an increase in tourists, we will revert to the previous system."

Another attendee cited examples from other local governments and requested "support for special guarantee fees for small business loans."

Mayor Kwon responded, "We plan to support the guarantee fee (0.8%) for one year when small business owners affected by COVID-19 receive a guarantee certificate from the Credit Guarantee Foundation."

Regarding the promotion of the registration process for Yeosu Love Gift Certificate affiliated stores, another attendee asked about it, to which Mayor Kwon replied, "Since February, we have focused on guiding and recruiting local gift certificate affiliated stores, resulting in over 1,200 new businesses joining. We will continue to strive for more participation."

In addition, Mayor Kwon said, "As one of the measures to improve food culture, I propose the use of personal side dishes and tongs to the dining industry," adding, "I hope that after COVID-19, Yeosu will be recognized as a hygienic and safe city."

He also stated, "As issues with private delivery apps such as Baedal Minjok and Yogiyo have become national concerns, I have instructed the relevant department to review a public delivery app," and added, "If the local dining industry provides various opinions on the current situation and the necessity of app development, we will actively consider them."

Mayor Kwon said, "Since February, we have implemented a 10% discount on local love gift certificates, and currently, more than 4 billion won worth has been sold. We will consider measures such as receiving reports to prevent gift certificates from being misused as a means of cash conversion (so-called gift certificate fraud)," and requested, "Please use the local gift certificates and disaster relief funds by August to help overcome the COVID-19 crisis."

He also added, "I repeatedly urge everyone to pay more attention to personal quarantine in daily life, such as wearing masks and washing hands, to end COVID-19."

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