Payment of 'Small Business Quarantine Support Fund' totaling 3.2 trillion won

Starting with about 700,000 small businesses under operating hour restrictions
Support payments for quarantine to begin on the 27th

Kang Sung-cheon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is holding a briefing on the plan for the quarantine support fund for small business owners at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in Sejong on the 23rd.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Kwon Chil-seung, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced on the 23rd that it will provide a total of 3.2 trillion KRW in 'Small Business Quarantine Support Funds' starting from the 27th to help small business owners recover from damages and support quarantine activities.

The support fund is intended to quickly assist those affected by the suspension of daily recovery and strict business hour restrictions. Unlike the previous four disaster relief funds that were paid after the quarantine measures ended, this time the payments will begin during the quarantine period. A total of about 3.2 million businesses, including 900,000 businesses with restricted operating hours and 2.3 million small businesses experiencing sales decline, will receive 1 million KRW each as quarantine support funds.

This quarantine support fund is provided separately from the fourth quarter loss compensation to be paid in February next year. More substantial support will be given to small business owners who suffered significant damage due to strict social distancing measures such as operating hour restrictions, and small business owners in sectors like travel and accommodation, who were previously excluded from loss compensation, will also be supported, thereby reducing blind spots in assistance.

The eligible recipients are small business owners and small enterprises that opened before December 15 of this year. Support will be provided if sales have decreased or are expected to decrease. Small businesses with operating hour restrictions are presumed to have decreased sales and will receive immediate support without separate proof. Small businesses without operating hour restrictions will be supported if their sales have decreased. Those who have previously received the Emergency Relief Fund Plus or the Hope Recovery Fund will be recognized as having decreased sales and will be paid promptly.

The government will start providing the quarantine support funds to small businesses with operating hour restrictions first. The Ministry has identified about 750,000 businesses subject to operating restrictions by utilizing databases such as loss compensation and Hope Recovery Fund data for rapid support, and will begin the first payment to about 700,000 of these businesses starting on the 27th. For approximately 50,000 businesses requiring joint representative power of attorney, multiple business entities, or local government facility verification, additional payments will be made after mid-January.

For small businesses in sectors such as travel and accommodation that are not subject to operating hour restrictions, about 1.8 to 2 million small businesses that have received the Emergency Relief Fund Plus or Hope Recovery Fund will begin receiving payments on January 6 next year. For others, the government plans to verify sales decline sequentially and provide quarantine support funds starting from mid-January next year when tax data becomes available.

For the approximately 700,000 small businesses with operating hour restrictions included in this first payment group, notification text messages will be sent starting at 9 a.m. on the 27th. Applications can be made online from 9 a.m. that day, and personal authentication requires a mobile phone registered under the applicant's name or a joint certificate (for corporations, a corporate joint certificate). For the first two days, an odd-even system will be operated, allowing applications on designated dates based on the last digit of the business registration number, and from the 29th, applications can be made regardless of this distinction. For small business owners who receive the notification and apply, payment on the day of application is the principle, and the number of daily transfers, which was up to four times during the previous Hope Recovery Fund payment, will be increased to five times a day to expedite the payment of the quarantine support funds as much as possible.

In addition to this quarantine support fund, the government plans to steadily support small business owners struggling due to strengthened social distancing measures with quarantine supplies support funds, loss compensation, and special COVID-19 loans. Kang Sung-chun, Deputy Minister of the Ministry, said, "My heart is heavy when I think of the small business owners who are facing great difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and recent strengthened quarantine measures," adding, "We will do our best to ensure swift and smooth execution to alleviate the difficulties of small business owners even a little."

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