Sogongyeon: "Business Restriction-Focused Quarantine Guidelines Are Meaningless... Additional Budget of Over 30 Trillion Won Needed"

The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise and the Democratic Party of Korea are holding a policy agreement ceremony on the 7th at the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise's main conference room located in Yeouido, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] "The current high-intensity business restriction-focused social distancing quarantine policy, which is still ongoing, has become meaningless due to the widespread outbreak of COVID-19 variants. The unilateral sacrifice of small business owners must now stop."

On the 7th, Oh Se-hee, president of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (hereafter KOFOME), made this appeal at a policy agreement ceremony held in the main conference room of KOFOME in Yeouido, Seoul, with the Democratic Party of Korea. President Oh emphasized, "The quarantine policy must now shift to a private autonomous responsibility model," and added, "The additional supplementary budget for small business support currently being discussed in the political sphere should be carried out on a large scale, exceeding 30 trillion won."

Regarding restrictions on small business operating hours, Kim Byung-wook, head of the Democratic Party’s election campaign headquarters’ professional division, who attended the agreement ceremony, said, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung recently proposed extending operating hours until midnight only for those who have received the third COVID-19 vaccine dose," and added, "I believe Candidate Lee holds the position most similar to that of KOFOME." Kim also stated, "Regarding loans and interest for small business owners maturing in March, the National Assembly and government are closely consulting with a focus on deferment," and added, "I think we are managing to endure this much thanks to the sacrifice and participation of small business owners."

Regarding the increase in the supplementary budget for small business support in the new year, Woo Sang-ho, head of the Democratic Party’s general election campaign headquarters, said, "Candidate Lee’s position is to try to maximize the increase this time, provide the first payment initially, and if it is insufficient, provide additional payments after being elected," and added, "After election, various methods such as emergency financial orders or a second supplementary budget will be used to ensure immediate payment."

At the agreement ceremony, KOFOME delivered to the Democratic Party the "Next Government Small Business Policy Tasks," which include 10 common urgent tasks facing small business owners and 22 industry-specific issues. Among the 10 urgent tasks related to COVID-19, they proposed ▲ amendment of the Small Business Loss Compensation Act ▲ Korean-style Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) system ▲ expansion of closure and restart support systems. Major legislative issues included ▲ amendment of the Minimum Wage Act ▲ amendment of the Distribution Industry Development Act ▲ enactment of the Online Platform Fairness Act ▲ enactment of the Small Business Welfare Act. Key policy issues included ▲ establishment of the Small Business Mutual Aid Association ▲ construction of the Small Business Comprehensive Support Center ▲ establishment of the Small Business Policy Research Institute. Additionally, they delivered 22 industry-specific issues such as reduction of credit card merchant fees and amendment of the Value-Added Tax Act.

The Democratic Party pledged to actively reflect the policy tasks proposed by KOFOME in Candidate Lee’s election pledges and to strive for their realization.

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