Jo Bonghwan, Director of Sojin Gong, Inspects on the First Day of Small Business Owners' Quarantine Support Fund Distribution

Jo Bong-hwan, President of the Small Enterprise and Market Service, is inspecting the operation status of the quarantine support fund for small business owners.
[Photo by Small Enterprise and Market Service]

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] The Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS) announced that Chairman Jobonghwan began inspecting the application status for the Small Business Quarantine Support Fund, which started accepting applications from 9 a.m. on the 27th.

SEMAS is responsible for executing the reception and payment of the Small Business Quarantine Support Fund, a total of 3.2 trillion KRW program implemented to aid small business owners affected by COVID-19 and support quarantine measures. Accordingly, Chairman Jobonghwan visited the Disaster Support Office to monitor the application status for the support fund in real time and encouraged prompt payments to applicants.

The first round of the Quarantine Support Fund will provide 1 million KRW each to approximately 700,000 small business owners, including restaurants and cafes, who were subject to operating hour restrictions. SEMAS will determine the recipients eligible for rapid payment by utilizing existing databases such as loss compensation and Hope Recovery Fund. As with the four previous rounds of disaster relief funds, payments will be made immediately upon online application without requiring additional document submission.

On the 27th, when the payment of quarantine support funds began for small business owners affected by the government's COVID-19 quarantine measures, small business owners were receiving consultations at the Small Enterprise and Market Service Seoul Jungbu Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The payment targets are small business owners and small enterprises that opened by December 15 of this year and whose sales have decreased or are expected to decrease, with each business receiving 1 million won. Applications for the support fund can be made on the dedicated website '소상공인방역지원금.kr'. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

From 9 a.m. on the same day, notification text messages were sent to the first-round eligible applicants. The principle is to pay the Quarantine Support Fund on the day of application. To facilitate smooth applications, a parity system based on the last digit of the business registration number will be implemented for the first two days. On the first day, the 27th, those with an odd last digit of their business registration number can apply and receive the support fund, while on the 28th, those with an even last digit can do so. From the 29th onward, applications can be submitted regardless of parity.

Chairman Jobonghwan stated, “Due to the high-intensity operating hour restrictions during the year-end and New Year period, the damage to small business owners is expected to be significant. This Quarantine Support Fund will be provided not only to those subject to operating hour restrictions but also to small business owners whose sales have decreased, offering broader support. SEMAS employees will do their utmost to ensure swift execution of the fund disbursement.”

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