[Photo] Yeongdeungpo-gu and Korea Federation of SMEs Sign Business Agreement to Support Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Business Owners

On the 22nd, Business Agreement Signed to Promote Support Projects for SMEs and Small Business Owners... Seoul's Autonomous Districts First to Provide Additional 10,000 KRW Monthly Yellow Umbrella Hope Incentive... Submit Application via Website or Financial Institutions within 30 Days of Yellow Umbrella Enrollment... Support Available Until December This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Chae Hyun-il) announced on the 22nd that it signed a "Business Agreement for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Small Business Support Projects" with the Korea Federation of SMEs (Chairman Kim Ki-moon) to stabilize the livelihoods of small business owners and expand the social safety net.

The agreement ceremony was held in the communication room of Yeongdeungpo District Office, attended by a total of six people including staff from the Yeongdeungpo-gu Job and Economy Division and Seo Seung-won, the full-time vice chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, along with related personnel. They agreed to actively cooperate in support projects aimed at stabilizing small business management.

With this agreement, Yeongdeungpo-gu announced that it will be the first autonomous district in Seoul to promote the "Yellow Umbrella Hope Incentive Support Project."

The "Yellow Umbrella Hope Incentive" is a project that provides an incentive for a certain period to encourage small business owners to join the "Yellow Umbrella," a mutual aid system for small enterprises and small business owners designed to prepare for business closure, old age, or death.

The "Yellow Umbrella" is open to any small enterprise or small business owner with an annual sales revenue of 200 million KRW or less, allowing monthly or quarterly contributions ranging from 50,000 KRW up to a maximum of 1 million KRW.

When payment reasons such as business closure, death, old age, or retirement occur, members can receive mutual aid funds, enjoy income deductions up to 5 million KRW annually, and receive compound interest benefits.

Through this agreement, the district will provide an additional monthly 10,000 KRW hope incentive for one year to small business owners in Yeongdeungpo-gu who have joined the Yellow Umbrella mutual aid from their enrollment date. The incentive support will be provided until the budget is exhausted.

The incentive benefit applies to new members joining after March of this year. Small business owners wishing to apply can visit a financial institution's enrollment window or access the Yellow Umbrella website within 30 days of joining to submit an application form.

For more details, inquiries can be made to the Yellow Umbrella call center for thorough consultation.

Additionally, through this agreement, the district and the Federation agreed to actively cooperate in promoting and discovering support projects for small enterprises and small business owners to revitalize the local economy, such as "Fostering and Supporting SME Cooperatives" and "Smart Factory Construction Support."

Recently, the district is reviewing the enactment of an ordinance to foster SME cooperatives to prepare more effective and sustainable support measures. It also plans to operate the "Yeongdeungpo-gu SME Development Fund," which can provide loans up to 300 million KRW to small business owners and SMEs facing economic difficulties due to COVID-19.

Seo Seung-won, full-time vice chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, said, "With today's agreement, we expect Yeongdeungpo-gu to become a strong partner for SMEs, small business owners, and SME cooperatives, actively working on various support projects that can revitalize the local economy, starting with the Yellow Umbrella enrollment incentive support."

Chae Hyun-il, mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, "It is very meaningful to be the first autonomous district in Seoul to participate in the Yellow Umbrella mutual aid project, which prepares for sudden threats and difficulties such as business closure. We will continue to actively promote various support projects that provide practical help to small business owners suffering from sales declines and other difficulties due to the spread of COVID-19 through close cooperation and coordination with the Federation."

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