When and How Will the 3rd Disaster Relief Fund Be Provided?

Myeongdong Street, Jung-gu, Seoul (archival photo)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jusangdon] The government’s tailored support measures for damages caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) will begin disbursement on the 11th, aiming to provide payments to about 90% of approximately 5.8 million beneficiaries before the Lunar New Year holiday.

Earlier, on December 29 last year, the government announced a total of 9.3 trillion won worth of “Tailored Support Measures in Response to the Third Wave of COVID-19” at the 24th Economic Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting.

Businesses subject to closure orders (3 million won) and businesses with operational restrictions (2 million won) that have faced physical limitations on their operations due to COVID-19 can receive support funds regardless of the scale of sales damage or rental burden. For general businesses, those whose sales decreased compared to last year and whose annual sales are 400 million won or less can receive 1 million won. In this process, the government will use public data from the National Tax Service and the National Health Insurance Service to provide cash payments upon application without requiring supporting documents. Accordingly, small business owners in closure order sectors can receive up to 6.5 million won in support funds, including the first employment stabilization subsidy (150,000 won), the New Hope Fund (2 million won), and this current Buffer Fund. Small business owners whose operations are prohibited or restricted can receive damage support funds without separate applications. For closure and restricted sectors affected by the third wave of COVID-19, local governments hold data on eligible businesses, so payments can be received without separate applications.

In response to income reductions caused by the prolonged COVID-19 situation, income stabilization funds totaling 500 billion won will be disbursed, providing up to 1 million won each to 870,000 special types of workers and freelancers. Additionally, 90,000 home-visit and care service workers and 80,000 corporate taxi drivers will each receive 500,000 won.

Furthermore, the government is focusing on supporting small business owners’ recovery, market access, and sales restoration. For 160,000 closed small business owners, the “Closed Store Rechallenge” incentive of 500,000 won will be extended, and 10,000 personnel supporting the transition to non-face-to-face (untact) services will also be supported. Small-scale ancillary businesses such as sports equipment stores and nearby ski rental shops affected by strengthened quarantine measures will receive 3 million won each.

To proactively respond to worsening employment conditions, the employment retention subsidy rate for businesses under operational restrictions or closure orders will be increased to 90% for three months. Travel industry workers and others will receive 500,000 won monthly for three months, totaling 1.5 million won, and living stabilization loans will be newly provided to special types of workers not enrolled in industrial accident insurance.

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