Second Round of Quarantine Support Fund of 3 Million Won to be Paid from the 23rd

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 22nd that it will provide the second round of quarantine support funds amounting to 3 million KRW starting from the 23rd to small business owners who suffered damages due to COVID-19 quarantine measures.

This second round of quarantine support funds is a measure following the passage of an additional supplementary budget of 16.9 trillion KRW in the National Assembly plenary session the day before. It was prepared to support damages caused by the extension of social distancing and business hour restrictions. This is the largest amount, approximately 10 trillion KRW, compared to the small business support funds paid five times so far.

The second quarantine support fund has expanded the support targets and criteria compared to the first round to minimize blind spots. The support targets are small business owners, small enterprises, and businesses with annual sales exceeding 1 billion KRW but less than or equal to 3 billion KRW that opened before December 15, 2021, and were operating as of the 17th of last month. About 20,000 companies in accommodation, food service, education service industries with annual sales exceeding 1 billion KRW but less than or equal to 3 billion KRW were newly added this time.

Regarding the support criteria, businesses subject to business hour restrictions are considered to have decreased sales and will be supported without separate proof. For those not subject to business hour restrictions, support will be provided according to separate criteria. First, businesses that received the Support Fund Plus or Hope Recovery Fund are recognized as having decreased sales and will be supported. In other cases, support is provided if sales in November or December 2021 decreased compared to the same period before the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019 or 2020. Simplified taxpayers are also eligible if their annual VAT reported sales in 2021 decreased compared to 2019 or 2020. Detailed support criteria and application procedures can be found on the Ministry of SMEs and Startups website.

The second quarantine support fund payments will begin on the 23rd. To expedite support, the Ministry selected priority support targets using the first round quarantine support fund database. On the 23rd, 1.52 million businesses with odd-numbered business registration numbers will be notified by text message to apply, and on the 24th, 1.52 million businesses with even-numbered registration numbers will be notified.

Additionally, for multiple businesses managed by one person and businesses operated by co-representatives, application guidance will be provided sequentially from the 25th. Especially for confirmed payments requiring separate proof such as co-representative power of attorney, the application period, which previously took more than a month from the initial payment start date, will be significantly shortened to begin payments. To reduce the burden of proof, documents submitted during the first round quarantine support fund application will be recognized as is.

Small business owners who receive the notification text can apply online from 9 a.m. at '소상공인방역지원금.kr' just like the first round quarantine support fund. They can access it by searching through portal sites.

Applications can be made by preparing a mobile phone in the applicant's name for identity verification or a joint certificate (corporations require a corporate joint certificate), then entering the business registration number, verifying identity, and entering the transfer account. Except for confirmed payments such as co-representatives, applications are simple without uploading separate documents.

Payments are made on the day of application in principle; if applied by 6 p.m., the support fund will be deposited into the requested account on the same day. On the first payment day, the 23rd, payments will start from 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, the first round quarantine support fund, which has been paid at 1 million KRW each since December 27 last year, has been paid to 3,046,000 small business owners and small enterprises totaling 3.046 trillion KRW as of this date. Applications are accepted until March 4.

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