Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups (center), attended the "Good Landlord Tea Meeting" held on the 24th of last month at Namdaemun Market in Jung-gu, Seoul, and is seen smiling brightly while emphasizing win-win cooperation with landlords, merchant associations, and other stakeholders.
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 1st that it will do its best to ensure that the 'Good Landlord' movement, which started in Jeonju Hanok Village, Jeollabuk-do, spreads nationwide.
The government plans to provide income tax and corporate tax reductions amounting to 50% of the rent reduction for landlords who lowered rent in the first half of the year. If the scale of stores participating in rent reduction within a market exceeds 20%, a fire safety package including old wiring maintenance and sprinkler installation will be provided.
Rent will be significantly reduced for small business tenants leasing government-owned properties from central and local governments. Rent reductions will also be applied to small business tenants (including SMEs) leasing properties owned by public institutions (with participation from 103 institutions).
Additionally, franchisors who reduce franchise fees by 10% or more for at least three months will receive benefits such as preferential interest rates and increased support limits when applying for policy funds. The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency has expanded the eligibility for its emergency management stabilization funds.
The support has been extended to all industries affected by COVID-19, including small hospitals and clinics, movie theaters, franchise businesses, performance-related industries, wedding businesses, restaurants with five or more regular employees, and education service industries.
Landlords of traditional markets and shopping districts, as well as the franchise industry, are actively participating in the good rent and franchise fee reduction movement. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, as of the 27th of last month, 326 landlords (benefiting 9,372 stores) and nine franchise companies including Haemaro Food Service are voluntarily participating in rent or franchise fee reductions.
A Ministry of SMEs and Startups official stated, "The government and local governments are collaborating to promote a rent reduction campaign to spread the Good Landlord movement nationwide," adding, "We support discovering best practices, media promotion, government awards, and preferential treatment when participating in government support projects."
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