Kwon Chil-seung "900 Million Won Cap on Hope Recovery Fund, Agrees on Need for Increase"

Asia Exclusive_ Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups./Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, expressed on the 13th his agreement on the need to increase the per-person maximum payment of 9 million won for the Small Business Hope Recovery Fund included in the government's supplementary budget proposal.

On the same day, during the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, and SMEs Committee, in response to a question from Kim Kyung-man, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking, "Is there a willingness to raise the support amount of 9 million won for industries with large sales volumes and long-term quarantine measures that have suffered significant damage?" Minister Kwon replied, "The payment criteria so far have been structured to provide more substantial support to small businesses at the lower end, so I agree on the necessity of an increase."

He added, "If the National Assembly still deems the tiered support necessary, payments can be made accordingly. However, since there are opinions that larger businesses should be considered, I hope such matters will be settled during the National Assembly's discussions."

The Hope Recovery Fund was a support measure implemented from August last year to June this year, providing payments to small business owners affected by COVID-19 quarantine measures. It was budgeted at a total scale of 3.3 trillion won.

Regarding the requirement that businesses under operating restrictions must meet sales decline conditions to receive the Hope Recovery Fund, Minister Kwon stated, "It is necessary to actively consider abolishing such conditions, taking into account that restricted businesses also participated in quarantine efforts."

Furthermore, concerning general businesses that received 1 million won during the fourth disaster relief fund, the Buttress Fund Plus, but were excluded this time, he responded, "The current government plan considers industries with a sales decrease of 20% or more, but various options, including some adjustments, can be reviewed."

Regarding the 600 billion won allocated in the supplementary budget to support small business owners who suffered losses due to gathering bans and operating restrictions from July to September, following the amendment of the Small Business Support Act (Loss Compensation Act), Minister Kwon said, "Due to changes in circumstances, a re-estimation is necessary."

He continued, "When the 600 billion won was allocated, the social distancing level was not at level 4. The assumption was that the entire country would be at level 2 for three months, but now it is expected that at least July will be at level 4, and thereafter the metropolitan area will be around level 3, so a re-estimation is needed."

In response to a question from Jo Jung-hoon, a member of the Transition Era Party, asking, "When will the regulations for the Loss Compensation Deliberation Committee be prepared?" Minister Kwon explained, "It is expected to take about three months, so it will likely be prepared around October. Until then, it will be difficult to provide loss compensation in a new way."

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