'Busan-type Disaster Relief Fund' of 220 Billion Won to be Distributed Before Lunar New Year

Government Support Overlap: Additional 1 Million KRW for Closed Facilities, 500,000 KRW for Restricted Facilities

1 Million KRW for Charter Bus Drivers, 500,000 KRW for Corporate Taxi Drivers, Financial Aid for Village Buses

500,000 KRW for

Busan-type Disaster Relief Fund Information Notice.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Before the Lunar New Year, a Busan-style disaster relief fund worth 220 billion KRW will be distributed. A livelihood support plan targeting industries affected by COVID-19 is being promoted in Busan.

Busan City announced on the 7th a plan to provide Busan-style disaster relief funds to support the livelihood economy, which is struggling due to the resurgence of COVID-19.

This additional plan mainly focuses on supporting small business owners in affected industries and providing liquidity support.

The support measures were prepared with three directions in mind. First, additional support will be provided to businesses subject to gathering bans or restrictions to ease their burden. Second, efforts were made to compensate as much as possible for blind spots neglected by government and city support. Third, the financial threshold was lowered for small business owners and others who urgently need funds.

In connection with the government's third disaster relief fund announced on December 29, additional support funds are reflected to expand damage compensation, with a focus on providing additional support for areas neglected by government aid considering the livelihood situation.

The total support scale is 220 billion KRW, consisting of 75 billion KRW in direct support, 15 billion KRW in reductions, and 130 billion KRW in financial support. Busan City expects the direct beneficiaries to reach 154,000 people.

Direct support for damages will be expanded, including overlapping support of 54 billion KRW for facilities subject to gathering bans or restrictions, 7 billion KRW for blind spots in the transportation industry, 2.5 billion KRW for tourism businesses and cultural artists, and 640 million KRW in income compensation for vulnerable workers under self-quarantine.

First, the ‘Busan-style disaster relief fund’ will be provided to industries affected by COVID-19.

▲ For 11,000 places under gathering bans such as entertainment, indoor sports, and singing practice rooms, an additional 1 million KRW per business will be supported, totaling 11 billion KRW, on top of government support.

▲ For 86,000 places under gathering restrictions such as restaurants, cafes, and bathhouses, 500,000 KRW per business will be supported, totaling 43 billion KRW.

The total support fund of 54 billion KRW will be jointly matched by the city and district/county governments by mobilizing all available resources.

In the transportation industry, despite difficulties caused by decreased passengers and reduced operations, the following were excluded from government disaster relief funds: ▲ 1,600 charter bus drivers will receive 1 million KRW each.

▲ 54 village bus companies will receive a total of 2.5 billion KRW in financial assistance, and ▲ 9,000 corporate taxi drivers, who were neglected compared to individual taxi drivers, will receive an additional 500,000 KRW each, totaling 4.5 billion KRW.

Additionally, for businesses enduring prolonged damage from COVID-19, ▲ about 2,400 local tourism businesses and ▲ about 2,600 cultural artists will each receive 500,000 KRW, totaling 2.5 billion KRW, for emergency business stabilization and livelihood support.

▲ Vulnerable workers (part-time, daily, and special-type employment workers, about 2,800 people) temporarily self-quarantined due to COVID-19 diagnostic tests will receive 230,000 KRW each, totaling 640 million KRW, including medical expenses and compensation, expanding the scope and targets of damage support.

To alleviate small business owners' rental burdens, a 15 billion KRW extension of public property rent reductions (third phase) and 4.8 billion KRW in tax support for “Good Landlords” have been prepared.

Support to ease small business owners' rental burdens will also be strengthened. Public property rents, which were reduced by 50% for six months in two phases from February to November last year, will be extended until June this year, reducing 15 billion KRW for about 3,000 places.

▲ To encourage voluntary participation and spread of the “Good Landlord” movement, the city and district/county governments will support 100% of building property taxes for good landlords, easing the burden on livelihood-type commercial landlords.

A special financial support program for small business management stabilization will also be implemented, including 16.1 billion KRW for special financial support for gathering ban/restriction businesses, 50 billion KRW for special rental funds, 50 billion KRW for low-credit protection “Busan Moduron (+) Plus,” and 20 billion KRW for financial and public institution win-win cooperation funds.

First, ▲ the city will directly cover 1.9% of the loan interest for one year on the special rental loans promoted by the government, providing full interest support for about 8,000 gathering ban businesses and ultra-low interest loans ranging from 0.1% to 2.1% for about 24,000 gathering restriction businesses.

A 0% interest special fund exclusively for gathering restriction businesses will be operated at a scale of 10 billion KRW, providing additional support up to a limit of 10 million KRW regardless of existing loan limits, also supporting those excluded from government special loans.

Additionally, ▲ the support target for low-credit protection “Busan Moduron” will be expanded to credit grades 9 to 10, and the operating scale will be increased to 50 billion KRW with the operation of “Moduron+ (Plus).”

▲ Plans to expand liquidity include operating a 50 billion KRW special rental fund for small businesses and establishing a 10 billion KRW win-win cooperation policy fund.

Byun Sung-wan, Acting Mayor of Busan, said, “Proactive quarantine measures are the fundamental solution for rapid economic recovery, but since sacrifices and patience are inevitably required, we focused on strengthening insufficient parts and preparing support measures to ensure no blind spots for neglected areas.”

Busan City plans to work closely with districts and counties to maximize the effect of this additional support plan and complete the payments swiftly before the Lunar New Year holiday, in line with the government's disaster relief fund payment schedule.

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