Ulju County: 8 Out of 10 Participants Satisfied With Small Business Support Program

Survey Shows High Satisfaction Among Small Business Owners
Card Transaction Fee Support and Special Guarantee Financing Prove Most Popular

A recent survey found that 8 out of 10 participants are satisfied with the small business support project being promoted by Ulju County in Ulsan.

The most significant benefits perceived by small business owners were support for card transaction fees and special guarantee financing. There is a growing demand for customized support next year that will provide practical help in stabilizing operations and reducing costs.

On September 2, Ulju County announced that it had conducted an online survey from August 18 to 22 to discover new policies for small business support in 2026. The survey targeted 548 small business owners across various industries, including food service, manufacturing and retail, beauty, and auto repair.

Among the respondents, 63% said they had actually received support through Ulju County's small business support projects. Of these, 43% said they were "very satisfied," and 36% said they were "somewhat satisfied," meaning a total of 79% gave a positive evaluation.

The main factors for satisfaction were: support for card transaction fees (29.8%), special guarantee financing and loans (28.1%), and facility and environmental improvements (10.3%). On the other hand, areas identified as needing improvement included "the scale and conditions of support funds" (12.4%) and "complexity of the application process" (6.2%).

The main business challenges faced by small business owners were "declining sales" (40%), "rising raw material costs" (21%), and "increasing labor costs" (16%). In particular, regarding the burden of labor costs, this year’s newly implemented "new hire wage support project" became an opportunity to assess its effectiveness, and more than half (52%) expressed their intention to participate if the system is improved.

As for areas where they hope to receive focused support next year, "loan and guarantee support" was the highest at 40%, followed by "support for air conditioning and heating system cleaning costs" (22%), "new hire wage support" (11%), "online marketing and promotion support" (10%), and "delivery fee support" (7%). This highlights that stabilizing operations and reducing costs are the most pressing needs for small business owners.

Lee Soongeol, Governor of Ulju County, said, "We will reflect the opinions gathered from this survey and thoroughly prepare policies next year that will provide practical help in stabilizing operations and reducing costs. We will also actively pursue improvements to existing systems so that small business owners can receive real benefits."

Ulju County is signing the first special guarantee agreement in Ulsan worth 60 billion won.

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