President Yoon: "Largest Budget for Small Business Owners, 200 Billion Won Support for Delivery Fees"

Attendance at the Korea Small Business Conference
5.9 Trillion Won Budget Allocated for Next Year

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of the '2024 Korea Small Business Owners Conference' held on the 31st at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. [Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol announced on the 31st that "next year, delivery fees amounting to 200 billion won will be newly supported for 680,000 small business owners, and an additional 50,000 won will be provided on top of the already supported 200,000 won electricity bill subsidy for 900,000 micro small business owners."

President Yoon attended the '2024 Korea Small Business Owners Conference' held at KINTEX in Ilsan that morning and said, "To help you feel the warmth of economic recovery as soon as possible, the budget exclusively for small business owners next year has been set at a record high of 5.9 trillion won."

Following last year, when he became the first president in history to attend the Small Business Owners Conference, President Yoon attended the event for the second consecutive year. Marking its 19th year, this year's event was held on the largest scale ever, with over 4,000 small business owners from various industries such as the food service and tailoring sectors participating.

In his encouragement speech, President Yoon emphasized, "Small business owners are the foundation of people's livelihoods and local economies, and the backbone of our economy." He also promised that the government and banks will collaborate to supply 14 trillion won in new guaranteed loans next year, an increase of 2 trillion won from this year, and will significantly expand the scale of conversion guarantee loans to 10 trillion won, double the current amount, to further ease the financial burden on small business owners.

"Onnuri Gift Certificates Sales to Expand Further Next Year"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of the '2024 Korea Small Business Owners Conference' held on the 31st at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He further explained, "Onnuri Gift Certificates, which can be used at about 200,000 affiliated stores nationwide including traditional markets and small business shops, were sold in the amount of 1.4 trillion won during the month around last Chuseok, more than three times the amount compared to last year," adding, "For the entire year, sales are expected to reach a record high of 4.2 trillion won, and sales will be further expanded next year."

President Yoon then addressed small business owners, saying, "The strength of Korea's economy comes directly from you," and pledged, "The president and all government ministries will work as one team to vigorously support all small business owners."

Before the opening ceremony, President Yoon toured industry-specific booths operated by organizations such as the Korea Custom Tailors Association and cheered on participants in the Small Business Skills Competition held during the conference. Afterwards, at the opening ceremony, he personally awarded medals, orders, and commendations to six individuals who contributed to the growth of small businesses, including Seo Yong-pil, CEO of Dufang Confectionery (Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit), and Kim Dae-rae, CEO of Elim Coffee (Iron Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit), and offered words of encouragement.

The event was attended by over 4,000 small business owners from various industries such as tailoring and food service from across the country, including Song Chi-young, president of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business. From the government, Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups participated, and from the National Assembly, Kim Sang-hoon, chairman of the People Power Party Policy Committee, and Lee Cheol-gyu, chairman of the Industry, Trade, and SMEs Committee, attended. From the Presidential Office, Policy Chief Sung Tae-yoon and Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Park Chun-seop were also present.

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