Actor Ahn Sung-ki Participates in the 'Good Prepayment Campaign'... A Stepping Stone for Boosting Consumption

Actor Ahn Sung-ki participating in the Good Prepayment Campaign. Photo by Jung Ki-bu

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] “This is a store that had to close temporarily because a COVID-19 confirmed case visited. I was glad to see it reopen, so I prepaid for two boxes of pies (tarts) with a happy heart (Story from Lee ○○).”

“I am prepaying 200,000 won generously at my regular bookstore. I can get a tax deduction for this amount, and the bookstore owner can be encouraged, so it’s great (Story from Choi ○○).”

“With online school starting, the stationery store is quiet. I am pre-purchasing summer gym uniforms to support the stationery store owner (Story from Song ○○).”

Many citizens supported small business owners with various stories through the ‘Kind Prepayment National Campaign.’

The campaign is a voluntary good consumer movement to ease the difficulties of small business owners and self-employed people facing the COVID-19 crisis by prepaying and promising to revisit frequently used restaurants, neighborhood stores, cafes, and other small business establishments. It was conducted from April 27 to last month 26 by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise.

During this period, prepayments were made by public institutions, financial sectors, large corporations, universities, and the entertainment industry to support local merchants and small and medium enterprises.

Shinhan Bank participated in the prepayment campaign targeting small business owners and self-employed people near its nationwide branches by conducting meetings and workshops remotely to practice social distancing, saving 1.5 billion won. Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, and OK Savings Bank also joined. Gwangju Bank participated in a relay-style prepayment campaign at its headquarters and branches, prepaying at food material marts, flower shops, and restaurants, leaving messages of encouragement such as “Let’s overcome this difficult time together.”

POSCO visited 89 partner companies and traditional markets in Pohang and Gwangyang to participate in prepayment, and ‘Siksin’ prepaid 800 mobile meal tickets. The non-life insurance industry plans to execute a total of 20.4 billion won early for restaurant prepayments, office supplies pre-purchases, and social contribution activities.

Public institution Korea East-West Power promised to create demand by prepaying and advance payments of about 6.8 billion won in the first half of the year, and KOTRA plans to execute an early budget of about 6.3 billion won in the first half, including about 1.5 billion won in prepayments for equipment purchases.

At KAIST, as online lectures continued and restaurants and pubs near Eoeun-dong, where KAIST is located, faced difficulties, the ‘KAIST-Eoeun Commercial District Win-Win Project Campaign’ was conducted, allowing prepayment with usage planned after the fall semester starts in September. At Kyungil University, students could not attend school, so they prepaid 100 million won for school bus rental fees to help local companies.

Many celebrities including actors Ahn Sung-ki and Yoo Joon-sang, comedians Song Eun-yi and Hong Hyun-hee, comedians Jo Moon-sik and Kim Yong-myung, influencer Daedoseogwan, actors Baek Bong-gi and Kim Yani, and creators Jamgolber, Mark Hyung, and Gu Jae-hee participated, sending messages of encouragement to small business owners saying “Stay strong.”

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups evaluated that “It became a stepping stone for revitalizing consumption through the voluntary participation of the public.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry plans to select about 1,000 people who uploaded certification shots after prepayment and purchase products from small business owners in COVID-19 special disaster areas and local specialties to give as prizes. The selected citizens will be announced on the prepayment campaign website and Facebook on the 2nd.