Approaching 20 Trillion Won in Small Enterprise Agency Projects... Full Effort for Small Business Management Normalization This Year (Comprehensive)

Jo Bong-hwan, President of Sojin-gong, Holds New Year Press Conference on 26th
Continued Supply of Emergency Funds Including Hope Loans and Special Financing
Promoting Digital Transformation for Small Businesses... Implementing Innovative Administration

Jonghwan Jo, President of the Small Enterprise and Market Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS) has identified its biggest task this year as ensuring the smooth implementation of various support measures, including loss compensation, to normalize the management of small business owners. The total amount of loss compensation, quarantine support funds, and emergency loans handled by SEMAS this year approaches 20 trillion won.

On the morning of the 26th, Cho Bong-hwan, the director of SEMAS, held a New Year's press conference at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, stating, "We will focus on supporting the management normalization of small business owners in crisis."

◆ Loss Compensation and Quarantine Support: "We will enhance convenience for rapid execution" = SEMAS plans to faithfully implement the loss compensation system, rapid payment of quarantine support funds, and emergency loan support to help small business owners recover and leap forward from the damage caused by COVID-19. Loss compensation will be paid to businesses that suffered operational losses due to government quarantine measures, and through the revision of the Enforcement Decree of the Small Business Act within this month, ‘businesses with facility occupancy restrictions’ will also be included as compensation targets.

Applications for loss compensation for operational losses in the fourth quarter of last year are expected to be accepted starting next month, and for damages in the first quarter of this year, from May onward. The budget for loss compensation totals 5.1 trillion won, combining the existing 3.2 trillion won with an additional supplementary budget of 1.9 trillion won.

Separately, to expedite the disbursement of quarantine support funds, SEMAS will enhance convenience for small and micro businesses. Using pre-existing databases based on administrative information, the process will be conducted non-face-to-face, online, and without documentation. The sales threshold will be raised from 400 million won to 1 billion won, significantly expanding the payment target. Through the supplementary budget of 9.6 trillion won, 3 million won will be paid to 3.2 million small and micro businesses. The size of the supplementary budget and the amount per person may vary depending on parliamentary discussions. Director Cho said, "Once the supplementary budget is confirmed, we will accept applications online to ensure the quarantine support funds are paid promptly without delay."

On the 27th, when the payment of quarantine support funds to small business owners affected by the government's COVID-19 quarantine measures began, 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@

To support small business owners facing liquidity difficulties due to COVID-19, emergency funds totaling 3.4 trillion won, including Hope Loans and Special Recovery Loans, will be continuously supplied. Among the emergency funds, Hope Loans are low-interest loans at 1.0% for low-credit small business owners who have received quarantine support funds, amounting to 1.4 trillion won. The 2 trillion won Special Recovery Loans are also being provided at around 1.0% interest to 100,000 people in industries with personnel and facility restrictions, as well as travel, performance, and exhibition sectors.

Additionally, SEMAS plans to significantly increase the proportion of direct loans to 56.5% (2.37 trillion won) this year to strengthen small business owners' access to finance. To expedite the disbursement of direct loans, the 'Digital Finance Support Team,' responsible for online screening, will be expanded to 120 members. The proportion of proxy loans through banks accounts for 43.5% (1.83 trillion won).

◆ Digital Transformation of Small Businesses, Full Effort to Revive Domestic Consumption = To revitalize the stagnant traditional markets and shopping districts, various offline events such as the National Excellent Market Expo, Joint Sale, and Excellent Regional Product Exhibitions will be held in accordance with quarantine conditions and seasonal timing. To lead the digital transformation of small businesses and traditional markets, efforts will be made to build self-sustainability and drive sustainable digital transformation through the distribution of smart new technologies to 4,000 shopping districts, support for 17,000 stores to enter O2O platforms, support for 22 traditional markets to go online, and issuance of 500 billion won in mobile Onnuri gift certificates.

Director Cho stated, "We will enhance the convenience of small business owners' work and improve public trust through innovative administration." For digital finance, public MyData will be used to verify documents (increasing from 14 to 20 types), and the reliability of commercial district data will be improved through redesigning the commercial district database based on big data.

Director Cho added, "We will enhance the convenience of small business owners' work and improve public trust through innovative administration," and said, "We will support creatively and swiftly so that our efforts bear fruit in the form of management normalization for small business owners."

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