Changwon Special City Launches Full-Scale Effort to Support Small Business Owners

120 Billion KRW Support for Small Business Development Funds

Support for Small-Scale Environmental Improvements for Small Businesses

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam is stepping up to support small business owners in local commercial districts who are struggling with management difficulties due to the spread of non-face-to-face consumption and weakened consumer sentiment.

Changwon Special City Hall, Gyeongnam.

The city will provide 12 billion KRW in management and startup funds in the second half of the year. The application period is from August 14 until the funding limit is exhausted.

The support targets small business owners in local commercial districts with business locations in Changwon, including restaurants, wholesale and retail businesses, and personal services. Each business can receive loans up to 50 million KRW. The repayment period is within 4 years, and for the first year, the city will support 2.5% of the interest.

Small business owners who wish to apply can make a consultation reservation through the Gyeongnam Credit Guarantee Foundation website reservation system.

To provide customized facility improvement support for small business owners, a small-scale environmental improvement project will begin in the second half of the year. This project includes outdoor signboard and standing table replacement, interior improvements (lighting, wallpaper, flooring, etc.), restroom improvements, and expansion of fire prevention and security facilities, offering practical assistance to small business owners and receiving very positive responses.

The support targets small business owners who have operated for more than 6 months as of the announcement date, providing 70% of the facility improvement costs up to a maximum of 2 million KRW. With a budget of 500 million KRW, the plan is to support about 250 small business locations.

An event called Nubigo will be held to promote local consumption and restore local commercial districts.

This event will take place throughout August, where customers who pay 20,000 KRW or more on the delivery app Nubigo will receive a 5,000 KRW cashback in mobile Nubijeon. To allow many consumers to benefit, it is limited to one time per person and may end early if the budget is exhausted.

Rather than being a one-time event, a cashback event will also be held in September to celebrate Chuseok and the Korea Together Festival.

The city will issue 55 billion KRW worth of local love gift certificates, Nubijeon, in the second half of the year to reduce the burden of prices on citizens, stimulate consumption for small business owners, and revitalize the local economy.

Following the issuance of 30 billion KRW in July, the city plans to issue 55 billion KRW in September ahead of Chuseok to boost the economy and restore local commercial districts.

Paper certificates can be purchased at 247 sales agencies (Gyeongnam Bank, Nonghyup, Saemaeul Geumgo, Shinhan Credit Union), and mobile certificates can be purchased through 17 apps including the Nubijeon app, Beeple Zero Pay, Gyeongnam Bank mobile banking, and Nonghyup All One Bank.

Mayor Hong Nampyo said, “Local merchants in commercial districts are going through an extremely difficult time due to the spread of non-face-to-face purchases, weakened consumer sentiment, and economic recession,” adding, “We will do our utmost to ease the heavy burden on small business owners through various support policies.”

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