Small Business Owners Apply for 'Support Fund Plus' 680,000 Times Within 11 Hours (Comprehensive)

Disbursement of 845.6 Billion Won in Just Over 3 Hours... Total Payout Expected to Exceed 1 Trillion Won

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] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that on the first day of applications for the Buttress Fund Plus, the number of applicants exceeded 680,000 within 11 hours of the start of reception on the 29th.

According to the Ministry, text messages began to be sent from 6 a.m. that day to 2.5 million recipients eligible for the first rapid payment of the Buttress Fund Plus.

Among the applicants on the 29th, a total of 850 billion KRW was paid to about 450,000 people starting from 1:30 p.m. On the first day, 1,157,000 applicants with business registration numbers ending in odd digits were targeted, and text message sending was completed by 2 p.m.

The Ministry explained that by 5 p.m. that day, about 681,000 people had completed their applications, which is about 58.9% of the first-day target.

For small business owners who applied by 12 p.m., payments started 30 minutes earlier at 1:30 p.m., and by 5 p.m., 449,000 people had received 845.6 billion KRW.

The Ministry added, "Small business owners who apply by 6 p.m. will receive payments starting from 8 p.m., and those who apply by midnight will receive payments starting from 3 a.m. the next day," and "Considering the amount already paid on the 29th and the payments scheduled for 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. the following day, the total payment amount on the first day is expected to exceed 1 trillion KRW."

Meanwhile, on the 30th, text messages will be sent from 6 a.m. to 1,158,000 people whose business registration numbers end with even digits. From the 31st, applications will be accepted regardless of odd or even numbers. For 185,000 people operating multiple businesses, notification messages will be sent starting April 1.

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