[Desk Column] The Clothing Store Owner and the Chicken Restaurant Owner

Two months ago, Mr. Kim opened a stew restaurant downtown, and yesterday he served customers at only three tables all day long. Although difficulties have persisted since the resurgence of COVID-19, the situation in recent weeks has been nothing short of the worst. Before the restaurant could even establish itself, it was hit directly by COVID-19. Having prepared for a long time and unable to delay any further, he pushed ahead with the opening, but the situation was more serious than expected. Mr. Kim is trying to find a breakthrough by developing delivery food. He had advice from an experienced acquaintance and saw that nearby restaurants that started delivery services seemed to be the only way to somewhat reduce the impact.

Mr. Yoon, who runs a clothing store in front of a women's university, feels hopeless. The school has not been able to open normally, and the commercial district itself is dead, showing no signs of recovery. He feels like a farmer relying on rain-fed rice paddies. Mr. Yoon’s heart burns as he tries to keep his failing store afloat.

The situation of Mr. Park, who operates a franchise chicken restaurant, is completely different. He is overwhelmed with a flood of delivery orders. Before COVID-19, orders piled up only on weekends or special event days, but now they come regardless of time or day. He breathes a sigh of relief but cannot show it. The gym on the third floor of the same building is closed, and he heard that the cosmetics store next door has seen sales cut in half. Even among members of the same merchants' association, the situations are polar opposites. This is an unprecedented situation.

According to sales data of small business owners from Korea Credit Data, released by Lee Dong-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, small business sales have been declining steadily since the Gwanghwamun rally on Liberation Day and the outbreak of confirmed cases at Sarang Jeil Church. Last week's sales dropped to 75% compared to the same period last year. In Seoul, where many confirmed cases occurred, sales fell to 68%. As the above cases show, considering differences by industry and operation methods, places where business is not going well likely saw sales drop to less than half. After eight months of ongoing false hope, no one expects the situation to reverse if they just endure a little longer.

The reality is that businesses are on the verge of closing and being forced onto the streets, so loans need to be increased or extended to provide breathing room, and disaster relief funds must be injected to rekindle the flame. Even amid this, someone must contemplate structural problems and seek solutions. Our country has many irregular workers, retirees, and youth unemployed?a truly depressing "3D" situation. One of their career paths is self-employment. The proportion of self-employed people in Korea is around 25%, about four times that of the United States and 2.5 times that of Japan and Germany. A high ratio of self-employed people relative to the population inherently implies a constant structural risk. On top of this, the rapid increase in minimum wage and reduction in working hours have made the position of self-employed people even more precarious. The minimum wage, which was 6,470 won per hour in 2017, rose by 32.8% to 8,590 won this year in just three years. The reduction in working hours has changed lifestyle patterns and had a huge impact on the self-employment ecosystem.

Adding to this, the tsunami of COVID-19 has caused changes in lifestyles. Institutional norms, values, and thinking are being led to change by lifestyle changes for survival that are appearing with increasing intensity. In this earthquake-like change, some benefit while others face threats to survival. A few beneficiary industries have emerged, while the general majority of industries are being driven off a cliff.

No one can guarantee when it will be possible to return to the original position. The likelihood that the original position will continue to exist as it was is low. Self-employed people have no choice but to keep looking to the government.

Kim Min-jin, Head of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

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