Small Business Loans, Long Lines at Western Center from Early Morning... Southern Center under Gangnam Jurisdiction Relatively Better

Seobu Center

The government has introduced the 'Small Business Financial Support Rapid Execution Plan' to alleviate the difficulties faced by small business owners due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, although there are some differences between centers, the sight of people lining up from early morning to borrow money has hardly improved.

On the 30th, at the Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS) Seoul Western Center, which is responsible for Gangseo-gu, Yangcheon-gu, Guro-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, and Geumcheon-gu in Seoul, more than 30 small business owners were already lined up by 7 a.m. A woman in her 40s who runs a convenience store said, "Last week, I was turned away because the loan was not approved, so I came back again," adding, "The time I come out early in the morning is getting earlier, the reservation system doesn't work well, and people around me advised me to go to the site and wait." A man in his 50s who runs a business in the market also said, "I came last week too, but I was told some documents were missing, so I brought them again." The center was busy, starting with checking the credit ratings of small business owners waiting even before business hours. Kim Sun-hee, head of SEMAS Seoul Western Center, explained, "Some people won't get loans anyway, so we check credit information first to avoid long waiting times."

Nambu Center

The situation was relatively better at SEMAS Seoul Southern Center. Around 7:40 a.m., no one was seen lining up for consultation, and by the time business started at 9 a.m., 4 to 5 small business owners were waiting for the center to open. It was said that early morning visitors were given waiting tickets and informed of return visit times before being sent away. The center explained that the effects of efforts such as expanding channels and operating a reservation system have begun to appear. The Southern Center's jurisdiction includes Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu, Dongjak-gu, and Gwanak-gu in Seoul.

The reason small business owners continue to line up despite government measures is that the direct loans for small business owners starting from the 1st of next month at commercial banks and IBK Industrial Bank target credit ratings of 1 to 3 and 1 to 6, respectively. Small business owners with low credit scores inevitably have to visit SEMAS. On that day, Kim Jun-mo (a pseudonym), a self-employed person waiting for loan consultation at the SEMAS center, lamented, "Many self-employed people have experience of loan delinquency at banks or have loans from secondary financial institutions, so their credit ratings are not high enough to receive direct loans for small business owners from banks."