Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Provide 500,000 Won Support to 200,000 Closed Small Business Owners

Support for Rechallenge Incentives for Small Business Owners Who Reported Closure After August 16

Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (right) is answering questions at the '8th Emergency Economic Meeting Joint Briefing' held on the afternoon of the 10th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The government is supporting closed small business owners with a re-challenge incentive to help them restart their businesses.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 23rd that it will accept applications for the "Closed Store Re-Challenge Incentive" to alleviate the burden on small business owners who closed due to the resurgence of COVID-19.

The re-challenge incentive is an emergency project included in the 4th supplementary budget to ease the psychological burden of closed small business owners and support their re-employment and re-startup activities. It plans to provide 500,000 KRW each to 200,000 closed small business owners, totaling 100 billion KRW, on a temporary basis until the end of December this year.

The support targets small business owners who reported closure after August 16, maintained business operations for at least three months before closure, and have sales records. Additionally, applicants must complete online re-challenge education provided by the Small Enterprise and Market Service.

To simplify the application documents for the re-challenge incentive, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has collaborated with the National Tax Service and the National Health Insurance Service to build a database (DB) to verify the closure status of small business owners.

Closed small business owners can complete their application by submitting an online application form and a pledge without submitting separate documents. In particular, eligibility for the re-challenge incentive can be immediately confirmed at the application stage.

If the closure information is missing or cannot be verified, or if the small business owner has multiple partners or multiple business locations, additional documents must be submitted for verification.

For those requiring urgent payment, a fast-track system is also operated, allowing priority support if all related documents are submitted personally.

Along with the re-challenge incentive, additional applications can be made for small business owner recovery support programs such as closed store demolition cost support, business closure consulting support, and employment/re-startup education. Small business owners who received the New Hope Fund can also receive support if they meet the eligibility criteria.

The dedicated re-challenge incentive website will open on the 24th, and applications, registrations, and education attendance will only be possible through this site.

Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said, "We expect the re-challenge incentive to serve as a catalyst to help closed small business owners restart their businesses," adding, "We will make multifaceted efforts to connect with various employment and re-startup programs so that closure is not a despair but a hope for a new beginning."

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