'Commercial District Renaissance' Invests 8 Billion Won Over 5 Years... "A Catalyst for Revitalizing Local Commercial Areas"

Recruitment for 2021 Sangkwon Renaissance Project Support Beneficiaries

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 14th that it is recruiting candidates for the '2021 Commercial District Renaissance Project' to support neighborhood commercial districts, in collaboration with the Small Enterprise and Market Service.

The Commercial District Renaissance Project is a key task of the comprehensive measures for growth and innovation of self-employed businesses announced in December 2018. By 2022, 30 commercial districts nationwide will be selected and supported.

So far, 12 districts have been selected in three rounds, and through this recruitment, support demands will be identified in advance and supported within the budget range. The application period is from the 15th of this month until 6 p.m. on the 31st of next month.

The eligible commercial districts must include at least one market or shopping street, and be areas where commercial activity has contracted or there is concern about such contraction in the past two years, meeting the conditions stipulated in Article 2, Clause 4 of the Traditional Market Act. Applications must be prepared jointly by merchant associations and local governments with business plans, then submitted to the Small Enterprise and Market Service with a recommendation letter from the city, county, or district where the commercial district is located.

For the selected commercial districts, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and local governments will jointly invest approximately 8 billion KRW over five years in stages to revitalize the commercial districts. The invested budget will be used for revitalization projects focused on content reflecting local characteristics and infrastructure-centered environmental improvement projects.

Merchant associations and local governments will take the lead in creating spaces where shopping, community activities, and youth entrepreneurship are comprehensively realized, transforming the districts into attractive commercial areas that people want to visit again.

No Gisu, Director of the Regional Commercial District Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "We expect the Commercial District Renaissance Project to serve as a catalyst that stabilizes the livelihood base of small business owners in the post-COVID-19 era and leads to the revival of local commercial districts."

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