Hong Nam-gi "Considering Support for Small Business Owners with Sales Under 1 Billion Won"

Published 16 Feb.2021 18:49(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] The government is considering providing subsidies to small business owners whose sales have declined.

On the 16th, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said during the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee briefing, "The definition of small business owners refers to those with sales under 1 billion KRW, but in fact, the majority have sales under 400 million KRW," adding, "Although nothing has been finalized, we are considering extending the limit up to 1 billion KRW."

During the third round of subsidies, the government provided 3 million KRW to 240,000 small business owners in industries subject to gathering bans, and 2 million KRW to 810,000 in industries with operational restrictions. For 1.75 million general businesses that did not face gathering bans or operational restrictions but experienced a decline in sales, a subsidy of 1 million KRW was given.

The subsidy eligibility for industries under gathering bans and operational restrictions was based on the small business owner criteria under the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises, such as general restaurants with sales up to 1 billion KRW. In contrast, for general industries, the eligibility was selected based on an annual sales threshold of 400 million KRW.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong's remarks on the day indicate that the government is considering providing subsidies to small business owners whose sales have decreased. As the number of beneficiaries increases, the total subsidy amount is expected to surge significantly.

Hong also stated, "We will carefully review how far to cover the blind spots," and "We are working with the goal of submitting the first supplementary budget bill to the National Assembly in early March."

If passed by the National Assembly, the fourth round of subsidies could be disbursed as early as next month.