Paju City Mobilizes All Resources for Practical Compensation to Small Business Owners After Wide-Scale Water Outage

Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises Protests to K-water: "Do Not Ignore Small Business Owners' Business Losses"

City and Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises Operate Compensation Council... Discussing Damage Assessment Methods by Business Type

Legal Review Underway, Including Analysis of Cases from Other Regions and Court Precedents

Paju City, Gyeonggi Province, has strongly urged Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) to establish effective compensation measures for small business owners in relation to the widespread water supply outage that occurred in the Unjeong, Geumchon, and Jori areas last November.

Panoramic view of Paju City Hall. Provided by Paju City.

"Is covering bottled water costs all there is?"... Small business owners protest K-water's complacent attitude

Since the incident, Paju City, along with two compensation council members representing small business owners, has consistently called on K-water to come up with ongoing compensation measures.

However, according to the official notice on the "lump-sum payment for bottled water costs" issued by K-water on April 16, the document states that "for other types of damage, due to the lack of clear grounds for payment, it is inevitable that legal procedures such as litigation must be pursued," which has sparked public outrage among small business owners.

In response, the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises, a statutory economic organization, expressed its anger, stating, “The water outage occurred during the weekend, causing massive business losses not only for restaurants but also for businesses heavily reliant on water, such as beauty salons, laundromats, and lodging facilities. For K-water to insist on legal procedures in the face of such losses is to disregard the very right to livelihood of small business owners.”

Paju City holds separate meetings with the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises... Focuses on tailored compensation plans

Paju City has deeply empathized with the hardship faced by small business owners and has held frequent separate meetings with the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises to develop practical compensation measures. The city has meticulously analyzed compensation cases from other regions, relevant laws, and court precedents, and has transparently shared both the process and results with the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises.

In particular, as the extent of losses—including business losses and facility or equipment damage due to water quality deterioration—varies greatly by business type and operation, the city is prioritizing a comprehensive damage survey and is currently discussing specific survey methods and scope.

"Reimbursement for bottled water is merely the minimum"... Additional strong action anticipated

A member of the compensation council attending the meetings stated to Paju City, “While reimbursement for residents’ bottled water purchases is important, the actual damage suffered by small business owners whose livelihoods were directly hit must not be overlooked,” and warned that if K-water fails to present responsible measures, strong collective action will follow.

A Paju City official stated, “The recently decided lump-sum compensation for bottled water purchases is only a minimum measure to ensure basic survival. Compensation for small business owners’ business losses must be handled separately and is absolutely necessary. Going forward, we will continue to mobilize all administrative resources and maintain close communication with the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises to strongly demand that K-water establish a damage compensation plan satisfactory to small business owners.”

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