Small Business Association "High-Intensity Compensation Measures for Small Business Damage Must Accompany"

Ahead of Step 3 Escalation, Commentary: "The Government Must Provide Direct Support for Rent Issues"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) on the 17th demanded that "high-intensity compensation measures for damages to small business owners must be accompanied" in relation to the escalation to social distancing level 3.

In a statement released that day, KFME said, "Even at the current level 2.5, small business owners are suffering irreparable damage."

KFME added, "If it reaches level 3, in addition to this, PC rooms, study rooms, and beauty salons will be forced to close, and general management facilities will face personnel restrictions, affecting an estimated 2.02 million facilities nationwide," emphasizing, "The escalation to level 3 will not only directly impact about 2 million places, but will effectively result in a 'Korea shutdown.'"

Referring to cases in major overseas countries, they also urged, "The government and the National Assembly should promptly establish strong compensation measures for small business owners."

In Germany, as lockdown measures are strengthened, only essential businesses are allowed to open, and companies forced to close will receive support of up to 90% of their fixed costs. Australia has introduced a mandatory code of conduct that reduces tenants' rent and provides tax benefits to landlords, while Canada has implemented a policy that reduces tenants' rent burden by 75%.

In particular, KFME emphasized, "We urge the government to directly support the rent issue, which is the most difficult problem for small business owners, and hope that landlords will also devise measures to share the pain with tenants."

Additionally, KFME demanded priority payment of the third emergency disaster fund to small business owners, a significant expansion of the Small Enterprise and Market Service's emergency loans for small business owners, which were exhausted within half a day after being implemented with a scale of 300 billion won up to 20 million won per business, and suspension of loan interest collection by financial institutions for small business owners.

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