Seoul City to Inject 70 Billion Won Emergency Fund for Small Business Owners Affected by 'Timef'

New Low-Interest Loan with 3.5% Including Guarantee Fee, Up to 50 Million KRW
Seoul City Focuses Support on Small-Scale Damage Businesses Under 50 Million KRW
Management Improvement Experts to Provide One-on-One Customized Consulting Visits

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to provide special funds worth 70 billion KRW to small businesses and small merchants affected by the 'Timon·Wemakeprice Incident.' The support will be offered at a low interest rate of 3.5%, including guarantee fees, with up to 50 million KRW per company. Additionally, a dedicated consultation window for affected companies and consulting services for overcoming the crisis will be operated, along with linking to alternative online platform entry opportunities.

On the 6th, Seoul announced the 'Timon·Wemakeprice Entry Damage Small Merchant Support Measures,' which include financial support, consulting, and alternative sales channel support to remedy damages caused by the unpaid settlement incident. A Seoul city official stated, "As the amount of damage is expected to increase, we will focus on securing liquidity for small merchants and continuously monitor the situation to expand and diversify the scale and methods of support."

First, to prevent the worst-case scenario such as a chain bankruptcy caused by the suspension of settlements, a total of 70 billion KRW in small and medium enterprise development funds will be urgently injected for affected small businesses and small merchants. The plan includes operating complementarily with government measures to prevent overlapping support and improve efficiency, as well as simplifying procedures and documents to reduce the original 7 business days processing time to within 4 days.

Specifically, to secure liquidity, a new fund called the 'E-commerce Entry Damage Recovery Fund' will be established with an urgent injection of 35 billion KRW. Support of up to 50 million KRW per company (within the unpaid amount) will be provided, with a 1-year grace period and 4-year installment repayment at a fixed interest rate of 3.5% per annum, including guarantee fees.

Seoul plans to focus on small-scale affected companies with damages under 50 million KRW, while the government will support companies with greater damages, dividing roles between the government and Seoul city for funding support. The government’s Small Enterprise and Market Service emergency management stabilization fund is worth 170 billion KRW, with a maximum of 150 million KRW within the unpaid limit and a variable interest rate of 3.51%.

An additional 35 billion KRW will be injected into the 'Hope Companion Fund,' which has a limit of 100 million KRW per company, covers a 2% interest difference, and exempts early repayment fees and guarantee fees. Linked to this, debt refinancing loans with extended repayment periods will be offered to alleviate the burden on small merchants.

Professional consulting will be provided to support management and financial assistance. Management improvement experts will visit business sites directly to offer one-on-one customized consulting with unlimited sessions to help stabilize management quickly. Furthermore, alternative platform entry and sales activation opportunities will be provided to small merchants whose sales have been impacted to aid in sales recovery. One-on-one distributor consultation sessions for alternative online platform entry will be held weekly from August to November.

Song Ho-jae, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Civil Livelihood and Labor Bureau, said, "We will mobilize all possible capabilities and means of Seoul city, including financial, sales channel, and management support, to focus on damage relief for small merchants suffering from the Timon·Wemakeprice incident," adding, "We also plan to prepare additional support measures in anticipation of prolonged damages."

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