Ministry of SMEs and Startups Increases Small Business Closure Support to 42 Billion KRW This Year

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the worries of small business owners and self-employed individuals. A closed store in Myeongdong, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] On the 20th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it will expand the implementation of the 'One-Stop Closure Support' project to help small business owners quickly and safely close their businesses.

The 'One-Stop Closure Support' project provides comprehensive assistance to small business owners planning to close their businesses, offering everything from business closure consulting, legal advice, debt adjustment, to store demolition, covering necessary information, costs, and various difficulties all at once.

Last year, the project supported the business closure of 27,141 small business owners. By category, support was provided as follows: ▲ store demolition 14,234 cases ▲ business closure consulting 10,353 cases ▲ legal advice 2,429 cases ▲ debt adjustment 125 cases.

This year, considering the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the support scale has been significantly expanded. The system has been reorganized from individually applying and supporting business closure consulting, legal advice, debt adjustment, and store demolition to an integrated support system, making it more convenient for small business owners to use. The support budget also increased by 85%, from 22.7 billion KRW last year to 42 billion KRW this year.

Additionally, to broadly support the actual costs that vary depending on the industry or the type of demolition and restoration, the support limit for store demolition costs has been raised from 2 million KRW to 2.5 million KRW.

An official from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "Although business closure is a decision made with a heavy heart, minimizing losses and efficiently closing the business can become an opportunity for a new start. We are actively supporting employment and re-startup after closure, and this year, we plan to establish and operate a program that proactively supports business normalization before small business owners reach closure."

Small business owners who wish to apply for 'One-Stop Closure Support' can check detailed information such as announcements, application methods, and procedures through the Hope Return Package website.

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