[Full Text] Government to Provide 1 Million KRW Quarantine Support Fund to 3.2 Million Small Business Owners Facing Sales Decline

Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups. [Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The government has decided to provide quarantine support funds worth 1 million won to 3.2 million small business owners whose sales have decreased.

On the 17th, Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated at a joint briefing held at the Government Seoul Office, "We will quickly provide the quarantine support funds," and added, "We will prioritize support for small business owners subject to operating hour restrictions, who are expected to suffer significant damage."

Minister Kwon said, "Using the list of loss compensation recipients currently being executed, we will finalize the first database of quarantine support fund recipients next week and prepare to ensure that a significant number of small business owners who faced operating hour restrictions this year can be supported promptly."

He continued, "Although some general affected industries are not subject to operating hour restrictions, they will also be supported starting in January," and explained, "Companies that received the Buffer Fund Plus or Hope Recovery Fund will be recognized as having decreased sales, and the list of recipients will be finalized promptly."

Below is the full text of Minister Kwon Chil-seung’s announcement.

Hello, I am Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups.

I will explain the execution plan for supporting small business owners affected by the pandemic.

The government is preparing an efficient execution plan so that ① as many small business owners as possible can ② receive support quickly and ③ easily.

Separate from loss compensation, we will quickly provide quarantine support funds of 1 million won each, totaling 3.2 trillion won, to 3.2 million small enterprises and small business owners affected by strengthened quarantine measures.

In particular, we will prioritize support for small business owners subject to operating hour restrictions, who are expected to suffer significant damage.

To this end, we will utilize the list of loss compensation recipients currently being executed to finalize the first database of quarantine support fund recipients next week and prepare to ensure that a significant number of small business owners who faced operating hour restrictions this year can be supported promptly.

Although some general affected industries are not subject to operating hour restrictions, they will also be supported starting in January.

Companies that received the Buffer Fund Plus or Hope Recovery Fund will be recognized as having decreased sales, and the list of recipients will be finalized promptly.

To enable more small business owners to receive support, the sales decrease criteria will be broadly recognized in various ways.

Payments will be made quickly through an online application system. We plan to utilize the application and payment system infrastructure accumulated through four rounds of small business disaster support payments.

More detailed information and payment schedules for the quarantine support funds will be announced next week.

We will also expand small business loss compensation.

First, for the loss compensation related to the fourth quarter of 2021, in addition to the existing gathering bans and operating hour restrictions, personnel restrictions on facilities will be added. This is expected to expand the compensation target to about 900,000 businesses, including beauty salons, first birthday party specialty stores, and kids cafes.

We will complete the revision of the Enforcement Decree of the Small Business Act to expand compensation targets within January 2022 and prepare to ensure that the execution of loss compensation for the fourth quarter of 2021 proceeds smoothly in February next year.

The quarterly minimum amount of loss compensation will also be increased from the existing 100,000 won to 500,000 won to provide more substantial support.

Additionally, we will actively review field improvement requests related to the operation of the third quarter loss compensation system.

Considering the feelings of small business owners who were hoping for sales recovery during the year-end and New Year period, I feel a heavy responsibility as the minister in charge.

We will do our best to ensure the prompt execution of quarantine support funds and loss compensation so that they can be of even a little help to small business owners.

We once again promise that the government will make every effort to provide swift and substantial support to small business owners affected by quarantine measures. Thank you.

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