Prime Minister Kim: "Small Business Compensation to be Received by the End of This Month... Indirect Losses Excluded"

The 43rd Cabinet Meeting

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is speaking while presiding over a Cabinet meeting held on the morning of the 6th at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City, connected via video with Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum stated on the 6th that "small business owners will be able to receive compensation payments by the end of this month at the latest" regarding the Small Business Loss Compensation System, which will be implemented starting on the 8th.

On the morning of the same day, Prime Minister Kim presided over a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Sejong and said, "We will do our best to ensure that compensation payments are made promptly," adding, "We will hold the Loss Compensation Deliberation Committee on the day the Small Business Act takes effect (the 8th)."

However, Prime Minister Kim clarified, "The compensation targets are losses caused by direct quarantine measures such as government-imposed gathering bans and business hour restrictions after the law was promulgated on July 7," and "losses before that date and indirect losses are not applicable." This clearly drew a line in response to some small business sectors demanding retroactive compensation for losses incurred last year.

Prime Minister Kim also said, "(The scale of loss compensation) may fall short of small business owners' expectations," and urged, "Related agencies such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups should thoroughly inform small business owners about the compensation targets, scale, and other details of the system and seek their understanding."

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