Songpa-gu Provides Disaster Relief Funds of 500,000 to 1,000,000 Won to Closed Small Business Owners and Others

25 Billion KRW Allocated for Care Facilities, Religious Facilities, Closed Small Business Owners, and Unemployed Youth

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, conducting quarantine inspections at a daycare center for the safety of children vulnerable to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) will provide ‘Songpa-type Disaster Relief Funds’ worth 2.5 billion KRW to address the livelihood crisis caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and strengthened social distancing measures.

Mayor Park Seong-su of Songpa-gu emphasized, “We discovered hidden vulnerable groups struggling due to COVID-19 and decided to support them with this disaster relief fund,” adding, “This matter was resolved for joint promotion by all 25 autonomous districts of Seoul through the Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors.” Currently, Mayor Park Seong-su serves as the Secretary-General of the council.

The ‘Songpa-type Disaster Relief Funds’ will support seven targets across four major sectors: ▲care facilities (4 types) ▲religious facilities quarantine ▲closed small business owners ▲unemployed youth.

First, the district will strengthen support for care facilities. This is a measure to actively protect facilities where vulnerable groups affected by COVID-19 are active, such as elderly nursing homes, child welfare facilities, daycare centers, and kindergartens.

The district plans to provide 500,000 to 1,000,000 KRW per facility to help create a stable care environment.

Religious facilities will receive 500,000 KRW for quarantine supplies. This aims to resolve difficulties caused by prolonged non-face-to-face worship and attendance restrictions and to prevent group infections.

In particular, the district will promptly support elderly nursing homes, child welfare facilities, daycare centers, and religious facilities starting January 28, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, and kindergartens by the end of February, focusing on strengthening the quarantine system before and after the holiday.

Additionally, efforts will be made to support the recovery of closed small business owners. This is because most current government and Seoul city support targets small business owners who are still operating. The support will be aimed at closed small business owners who did not receive damage support last year among businesses subject to gathering restrictions and business suspensions.

Unemployed youth will receive employment incentive payments. This decision is based on the judgment that supporting unemployed youth is essential, considering that youth unemployment measures amid worsening job problems due to COVID-19 mainly focus on support for the unemployed.

Support for closed small business owners and unemployed youth is expected to be 500,000 KRW, with applications planned to be accepted within March.

Mayor Park Seong-su of Songpa-gu stated, “We plan to prioritize and quickly provide support to those in crisis to maximize the effect of the disaster relief funds,” adding, “We will make every effort to ensure that the disaster relief funds lead to strengthened quarantine measures, revitalization of the local economy, and the safe recovery of daily life for residents.”

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