Ministry of SMEs and Startups Confirms 7 Trillion Won for 1st Supplementary Budget... 'Improvement of Small Business Support Fund+'

Additional 235 Billion KRW Secured for Loans and Guarantees Budget Supporting Small Business Owners

On the 16th, when in-person applications for the Small Business Support Fund for digitally vulnerable groups began, small business owners were receiving consultations related to the Support Fund at the Small Enterprise and Market Service Seoul Jungbu Center. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that among the recipients of the Support Fund, small business owners who cannot verify their identity online or wish to receive the support fund through a proxy can make a reservation and visit the on-site application center to apply in person from today until the 26th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Up to 5 million KRW will be provided to small business owners affected by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) through the 'Support Fund Plus'.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 25th that the first supplementary budget for this year was finalized at 7.02 trillion KRW, an increase of 175 billion KRW from the original government proposal of 6.845 trillion KRW, following the National Assembly plenary session approval.

The 'Support Fund Plus' project, which is the 4th disaster relief fund for small business owners, has expanded the types of eligible recipients from the previous 5 to 7 categories.

First, the 'business crisis sectors' were divided into three categories based on the rate of sales decline. Business crisis sectors such as travel agencies and youth training facilities with a sales decline rate of 60% or more will receive 3 million KRW (+1 million KRW), similar to restricted sectors. Two additional types were added to support business crisis sectors such as performances and exhibitions with a sales decline rate of 40% or more with 2.5 million KRW (+500,000 KRW).

Support Targets and Amounts for Buttress Fund Plus. Table = Provided by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Furthermore, the loan and guarantee support projects, which serve as a social safety net for affected small business owners, have been expanded to quickly alleviate difficult financial conditions. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will increase the small business loan project by 200 billion KRW to provide emergency loans up to 10 million KRW through direct lending by the Small Enterprise and Market Service.

Additionally, through the guarantee project, 'bridge guarantees' will be supported via regional credit guarantee foundations to convert business guarantees into personal guarantees, helping closed small business owners facing difficulties due to the maturity of existing guarantees avoid falling into credit delinquency and enable a fresh start. Special guarantees will also be supplied to the bus transportation industry through contributions to the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund.

Moreover, a budget of 20 billion KRW has been allocated to provide 500,000 KRW per business to street vendors managed by local governments, based on business registration under the Value-Added Tax Act.

Finally, considering the recent difficult employment environment, a budget of 30 billion KRW has been allocated for the 'Non-face-to-face Startup Promotion Project' to provide additional support to 200 startups in the non-face-to-face sector, which has shown good employment creation effects.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to promptly announce detailed support measures, procedures, and payment plans so that small business owners and SMEs in urgent need can receive support quickly.

Minister Kwon Chilseung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "Through this supplementary budget, we will actively support our small business owners and SMEs to quickly restore their business conditions to pre-COVID-19 levels and create conditions for improved management environments and new growth."

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