SMEs and Small Business Owners Appeal for Industry-Specific Quarantine Reforms... "Must Transition to With Corona"

Korea Federation of SMEs Urges Reform of Quarantine System for With-Corona Response
63% of Small Business Owners Consider Temporary Closure or Shutdown if Current Quarantine System Continues

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Five small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and small business organizations, including the Korea Federation of SMEs (Chairman Kim Kimum), announced on the 2nd at the Korea Federation of SMEs their "Position of SMEs and Small Business Owners on the Reorganization of the Quarantine System in the Era of Coexistence with COVID-19."

Attendees at the press conference included representatives from the Korea Federation of SMEs, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, the Korea Accommodation Industry Association, the Korea Foodservice Industry Association, and the Korea Federation of Small Merchants and Self-Employed. Additionally, small business owners operating cafes, restaurants, and exhibition companies attended and voiced difficulties experienced on the ground due to the prolonged social distancing measures.

The SME sector appealed that small business owners are effectively giving up operations due to over two months of high-intensity gathering bans and business restrictions, emphasizing the need for a new quarantine system that strictly enforces quarantine rules while maximizing the guarantee of economic activities.

Furthermore, they argued that occupational operation regulations should be minimized, and selective easing should be implemented by distinguishing between high-risk and low-risk infection facilities. They called for lifting private gathering limits for those fully vaccinated, applying exceptions for meetings or meals related to official conferences upon submission of PCR test results, and adopting flexible guidelines. They also insisted that general events should be held normally under compliance with quarantine guidelines.

According to the "Small Business Owners' Perception Survey on the Era of Coexistence with COVID-19" conducted by the Korea Federation of SMEs from August 25 to August 30, 76.8% of small business owners supported the reorganization of the quarantine system.

Additionally, 91.4% of all respondents answered that their sales in July and August decreased compared to last year, and 63% said they would consider temporary closure or business shutdown if the current quarantine system continues (26.0% seriously considering, 37.0% somewhat considering).

Kim Kimum, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, stated, "As COVID-19 has continued for nearly two years and the highest level of social distancing has been maintained since July, the damage to small business owners has become so severe that they can no longer endure it." He emphasized, "The number of self-employed with employees has decreased by as many as 240,000 since COVID-19, while the number of one-person self-employed working multiple jobs for livelihood has reached an all-time high."

Chairman Kim added, "In a situation where the timing of herd immunity formation is practically unpredictable, the current uniform quarantine policies only increase the damage to small business owners and the effectiveness of quarantine is gradually declining. Therefore, while strictly maintaining daily quarantine measures such as mask-wearing, we must transition to a 'With COVID' approach that guarantees economic activities as much as possible."

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