Government Supports Small Business Owners Facing Management Crisis or Closure with Hope Return Package... Up to 20 Million Won Assistance

Support for Closed Small Business Owners Preparing for Rechallenge
Education and Mentoring Provided for Employment and Re-Startup Targets

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government will provide up to 20 million KRW to support the business normalization of small business owners struggling due to COVID-19.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Small Enterprise and Market Service announced on the 31st that from January next year, they will expand the Hope Return Package for small business owners in business crisis and those who have closed their businesses.

First, a proactive business normalization support project has been established to prevent small business owners from going out of business. Small business owners facing difficulties such as decreased sales will receive a package including business problem diagnosis, pivoting strategy establishment, and improvement funds up to 20 million KRW.

For small business owners who have closed or are planning to close their businesses, support will be provided to prepare for re-challenge conditions. One-stop support will be offered for business closure consulting, store demolition support, legal advice, and debt adjustment to enable quick and safe closure. In particular, the store demolition cost will be increased from last year's 2 million KRW to a maximum of 2.5 million KRW, with up to 80,000 KRW per exclusive area (3.3㎡).

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, whose sales have decreased or are expected to decrease, and each business receives 1 million won. Applications for the support fund can be made on the dedicated website '소상공인방역지원금.kr'. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

For small business owners who want to find employment after closure, basic employment and company-linked specialized training courses will be operated. Next year, the support target will be expanded to include spouses of small business owners. In addition, a maximum allowance of 1 million KRW will be paid to closed small business owners who are job-seeking or employed to support stable re-entry as wage workers.

Small business owners who have closed their businesses and have strong will and promising ideas for re-startup will be provided with education and mentoring. Business funds of 20 million KRW, doubled from the previous year, will be supported to induce successful re-startup.

The re-startup support project can be applied online according to the recruitment period for each project starting from January 1 next year. Detailed eligibility requirements and support contents can be checked on the Hope Return Package website.

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