Gwangjin-gu Converts Agricultural Support Records to 'Farmland Ledger'... Provides Up to 100 Million KRW Loans at 1.5% Annual Low Interest for Small Business Owners and SMEs

[Seoul District News] Gwangjin-gu to Change Existing Farm Support Records from April 15, Applications Accepted Until February 28... 1.5% Annual Interest, 1-Year Grace Period, 3-Year Equal Installment Repayment with 1.5 Billion KRW Priority Support in First Half... Seodaemun-gu Provides Disaster Relief Funds to Closed Small Businesses... Nowon-gu Adds 54 High-Intensity Lights and 57 LED Guide Signs to 18 Safe Return Routes

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) is promoting preliminary work for the conversion of farmland registers by providing guidance on the changes in the farmland register system following the amendment of the Farmland Act.

The Farmland Register, which has served as the official ledger for farmland, will be completely revamped into the ‘Farmland Register’ starting April 15, with significant changes in the criteria for preparation, subjects, and responsible agencies. Due to this revision, the existing Farmland Ledger will only be issued until April 6.

The existing Farmland Ledger was prepared based on farmers (households) only for farmland of 1,000㎡ or more, and applications for preparation and issuance were only possible at the farmer’s address. However, with the conversion to the Farmland Register, all farmland will be prepared and managed by parcel (lot number) regardless of area, and applications for preparation and issuance will be possible nationwide.

Along with this, the responsible agencies and management methods will also change. The responsible agency will shift from the farmer’s address to the administrative office having jurisdiction over the farmland location, and the management of the Farmland Register will apply a notification system by the farmland owner instead of the ex officio system previously conducted by the agency.

Accordingly, farmland owners must report any changes within 60 days to the administrative office having jurisdiction over the farmland location when lease contracts are concluded, changed, or canceled, or when livestock or agricultural production facilities such as barns or farm sheds are installed.

Applications for new or changed Farmland Ledger entries can be made through the local community service centers at the farmer’s (household’s) address until February 28 to ensure smooth implementation of the Farmland Register revision. Applications will be restricted after this period. Therefore, farmers who need to modify existing Farmland Ledger data such as cultivation status or farmer information must apply for changes within the application period.

Farmland managed under the existing Farmland Ledger will be automatically converted to the Farmland Register only for farmland with confirmed cultivation after January 1, 2020. Farmland with confirmed cultivation before December 31, 2019, will be designated as ‘subject to cultivation confirmation’ regardless of current cultivation status.

Therefore, farmland owners with confirmed cultivation before December 31, 2019, must review and issue their Farmland Ledger to check the final confirmation date of cultivation and request re-verification or maintenance from the responsible agency by February 28. Once the cultivation status is re-verified by the agency, the cultivation details of the farmland will also be automatically converted to the Farmland Register.

Gwangjin-gu plans to continuously provide guidance on the system improvements and prevent confusion by sending mail to farmers by February 11.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “We will thoroughly conduct promotional activities and preparations to prevent confusion among farmers due to the Farmland Register revision. Farmers are advised to check the current Farmland Ledger data to ensure no cultivation details are omitted during the conversion and to carefully maintain the data within the application deadline if necessary.”

Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) is launching the ‘2022 First Half Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Development Fund Loan Support’ to assist SMEs and small business owners facing financial difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, the SME Development Fund totals 3 billion KRW, with 1.5 billion KRW allocated for support in the first half of the year.

The support targets SMEs and small business owners located in Gwangjin-gu who have collateral capacity according to bank credit regulations. However, companies that have already received and are repaying loans from the SME Development Fund are excluded.

Loan support ranges from a minimum of 30 million KRW to a maximum of 100 million KRW per company. The temporarily reduced low interest rate of 1.5% per annum, introduced after COVID-19, will be extended this year as well, with a one-year grace period followed by three years of equal installment repayments.

Applications open from February 10 and will close once funds are exhausted. Applicants must visit the Kookmin Bank Gwangjin-gu Office branch for pre-screening of loan limits and collateral, then submit the loan application form and business plan along with required documents in person or by mail to the Regional Economy Division.

For more details, refer to the ‘Notices and Announcements’ section on the Gwangjin-gu website or contact the Regional Economy Division by phone.

Meanwhile, apart from the SME Development Fund, Gwangjin-gu will provide a total of 41.8 billion KRW this year in the ‘Gwangjin-type 1-Year Interest-Free and Guarantee Fee-Free Special Guarantee Loan Support.’ Last year, it created the largest special loan fund among Seoul’s autonomous districts, totaling 60.4 billion KRW, and supported loans worth 51.8 billion KRW.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, stated, “We plan to continue the ‘Gwangjin-type Loan Support’ to provide some relief to SMEs and small business owners who have suffered the most from COVID-19. Additionally, we will actively promote support policies to revitalize the local economy, such as the public delivery app ‘Gwangjin Ttaenggeoyo,’ Gwangjin Love Gift Certificates, and alleyway business consulting.”

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) recently held a district disaster safety countermeasures headquarters meeting at the district office’s planning situation room and decided to provide autonomous district disaster relief funds to those suffering from COVID-19, the district announced on the 9th.

This decision concretizes the agreement made at last month’s Seoul Mayors’ Council. The district will provide 500,000 KRW to small business owners who have closed due to gathering bans and business restrictions within the district, and to unemployed youth aged 19 to 34 (within two years after graduation). Taxi drivers (individual and corporate) will receive 400,000 KRW each.

Additionally, 10 million KRW will be given to village bus companies, 1 million KRW to daycare centers and local children’s centers, 500,000 KRW to ‘Elderly Care Group Homes,’ and 1 million KRW each to ‘Elderly Care Facilities and Daycare Centers.’

Furthermore, kindergartens and religious facilities will receive 1 million KRW and 500,000 KRW respectively for purchasing quarantine supplies. The total amount of this autonomous district disaster relief fund is approximately 2.7 billion KRW.

Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu and chair of the disaster safety countermeasures headquarters meeting, said, “We will promptly proceed with the disaster relief payments through the relevant departments for each target group and continue to implement policies to alleviate the difficulties of those suffering from COVID-19.”

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) has completed a maintenance project to create a safe residential and pedestrian environment by installing gobos, LED guide signs, and other safety facilities on safe return home paths.

The safe return home paths were established in 2015 through cooperation between the district and Nowon Police Station to support the safe return of vulnerable groups such as women and youth. Applying Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) techniques, 18 sections (7 km) were designated as focused patrol routes, with 112 emergency call guide signs and road markings installed and operated.

Since 2020, the district has been conducting a project to comprehensively refurbish existing facilities and expand security infrastructure to enhance crime prevention effects and the effectiveness of the safe return home paths.

First, 57 additional LED guide signs were installed beyond the existing location guide signs to improve nighttime visibility for pedestrians. The signs, installed at regular intervals from the start to the end of the safe return home paths, allow accurate identification of the current location and quick reporting in case of crime.

Gobo lights (logo projectors) were newly installed at 54 locations to supplement road markings on the safe return home paths. Gobo lights are designed to project letters or logos onto the road surface using special films. The lights include phrases reminding that CCTV is recording to deter crime, as well as encouraging messages such as “Thank you for your hard work today” to provide psychological comfort to pedestrians.

With this maintenance project, a total of 528 security devices including gobo lights, LED guide signs, LED security lights, CCTV, and emergency bells have been installed on the safe return home paths.

The district will continue to regularly inspect the safe return home paths and facilities and implement various projects to create safe neighborhoods by applying CPTED when developing residential and pedestrian environments.

Additionally, the district operates a Safe Return Home Scout program. Scouts work in pairs to accompany residents during late-night hours, providing escort services and patrolling crime-prone areas such as secluded alleys.

Last year, the program supported a total of 3,414 return home services and conducted 7,243 local patrol activities, leading efforts to create a safe community.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “As a result of continuous crime prevention projects including the safe return home paths, we have achieved the highest grade for four consecutive years in the community safety index’s living safety category announced by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. We will continue to implement various policies to ensure women and vulnerable groups can live safely and create a safe Nowon community.”

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