Small Business Owners to Receive 3 Million Won Support During Social Disasters

Amendment to Related Presidential Decree Passed at Cabinet Meeting

From now on, small business owners will also be able to receive livelihood support funds in the event of social disaster damages such as wildfires and fires.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the revision of the "Regulations on Standards for Burden of Relief and Recovery Costs for Social Disasters," which mainly includes livelihood stabilization support for small business owners affected by social disasters, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 18th and is scheduled to be implemented from the 25th of this month. As a result, small business owners who suffer direct damage due to social disasters will be able to receive 3 million won in livelihood support per business site.

The existing presidential decree limited the legal recipients of livelihood stabilization support to those affected in housing or agriculture and fisheries. Because of this, in cases of social disaster damages such as large-scale wildfires and fires, support for small business owners was decided through deliberation by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. However, with the establishment of this new legal basis, small business owners, like those in the agriculture and fisheries sectors, can receive support promptly without going through a separate decision-making process.

Along with this, a legal basis and forms have been prepared to allow those affected by social disasters to issue damage confirmation certificates. Through this, residents affected by social disasters can request the issuance of damage confirmation certificates from the relevant local government, just like with natural disasters, and use these certificates as proof documents to receive additional support under other laws.

Additionally, the damage reporting period, which was previously regulated to be within 10 days from the declaration of a special disaster area, has been improved so that the head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters can request an extension of the period from the relevant local government if deemed necessary.

In cases where disaster situations such as wildfire suppression and survivor rescue continue for a long time and it is difficult to handle damage recovery in a short period, the head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters can judge and request an extension of the damage reporting period so that residents do not feel insufficient time to report damages.

Kim Seong-ho, Director of the Disaster Safety Management Headquarters, stated, “With this revision of the presidential decree, we expect to provide more substantial support for victims of social disasters,” and added, “The government will work closely with local governments to ensure that support for affected residents is provided promptly and will do its best to establish the system.”

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