Ruling Party and Government to Provide 500,000 Won Each to Registered Street Vendors and Marginal Workers in Poverty

500,000 Won Income Stability Support Fund Payment
Electricity Bill Reduction for Businesses under Gathering Ban or Restriction

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] The Democratic Party of Korea and the government decided on the 28th to provide 500,000 won each to street vendors with business registration and marginal workers living in poverty through this year's supplementary budget (supplementary budget).

Heo Young, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, announced this after the high-level party-government-civil cooperation meeting at the National Assembly in the afternoon, stating, "We have decided to provide a temporary livelihood support fund of 500,000 won to marginal workers living in hardship, such as street vendors and temporary daily workers."

The party and government agreed to provide 500,000 won per location as income stabilization support funds without separate screening for street vendors who have business registration and are managed by local governments. For street vendors without registration, it was decided to support livelihood security through the temporary livelihood support fund.

In addition, to alleviate the burden of utility bills for small business owners affected by government quarantine regulations such as gathering bans, electricity bills will be discounted by 50% for businesses subject to gathering bans and 30% for restricted businesses for three months.

Spokesperson Heo stated, "Considering the characteristics of each local government, we will actively identify eligible recipients and provide as much money as possible quickly through a simple screening process."

The emergency damage support fund paid to small business owners and vulnerable employment groups will also have its support targets expanded and support amounts increased. Heo said, "It will be provided under the name of Small Business Owner Support Plus Fund," adding, "The support targets have been significantly expanded from the existing 2.8 million, and the support scope has been extended to small enterprises with five or more employees."

He continued, "For general industries, the sales limit criterion will be raised from the existing 400 million won to 1 billion won, and support blind spots will be significantly resolved by providing additional support to multiple businesses operated by a single person."

The government plans to submit the supplementary budget bill to the Cabinet meeting on the 2nd of next month for approval and then submit it to the National Assembly on the 4th. Spokesperson Heo added, "We will make every effort to prepare in advance so that major projects such as the Small Business Owner Support Plus Fund can be paid immediately from late March after the supplementary budget passes the National Assembly."

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