98% of Small Business Owners Report Sales Decline Due to COVID-19

On the 19th, as the possibility of COVID-19 spreading in the community increases, a public health official from Seongdong-gu Health Center is conducting disinfection on a street in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mo Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] It has been revealed that the damage suffered by small business owners due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) remains at a serious level.

The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KSMB) announced on the 20th that, in order to assess the damage to small business owners caused by COVID-19, a second survey was conducted from the 13th to the 19th targeting 1,079 small business owners, and 97.6% of respondents reported a decrease in business sales since the COVID-19 outbreak.

When asked about changes in visitors to their business locations after the COVID-19 outbreak, 97.7% of respondents answered that the number had "decreased."

The main cause was "indefinite postponement or cancellation of various meetings, events, and travel," accounting for 57.4%, followed by "damage from decreased local foot traffic due to confirmed patients' movement routes" at 22.6%.

When asked about satisfaction with government measures against COVID-19, 48.8% of respondents said they were "not satisfied." Only 29.1% responded that they were "satisfied."

The support policy with the highest satisfaction among small business owners was the 20 billion won scale management stabilization fund (50.5%). As for additional support policies needed, "expansion of the management stabilization fund budget" (55.7%) was ranked first.

Earlier, in the first survey conducted from the 4th to the 10th of this month targeting 1,096 small business owners, 97.9% of respondents also reported experiencing sales decline damage. A KSMB official said, "It appears that government support policies still do not resonate with small business owners, so active promotion is necessary," adding, "Effective policies such as expanding the management stabilization fund budget, expanding special guarantees, and providing compensation support through a full survey of affected small business owners are needed."