Gyeongnam Province Unveils Job Policies Including 'Small Business Hope Friends' Initiative

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] Gyeongnam Province announced on the 9th that it will promote the Gyeongnam Small Business ‘Hope Friends Job’ project to create public jobs for small business owners affected by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and to conduct a crisis survey.

This project is a Hope Job project led by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, carried out by the Gyeongnam Research Institute, with participation from the Gyeongnam Small Business Federation of 18 cities and counties in the province.

A total project cost of 3 billion KRW, including 2.6 billion KRW in national funds, will be invested to create about 650 direct jobs, prioritizing recruitment of small business owners who have temporarily closed, shut down, or become unemployed due to COVID-19.

Recruitment will be conducted in three phases, with the first phase running from the 10th to the 22nd.

Residents wishing to participate can visit the small business department of the city or county responsible for their residence to apply in person.

Additionally, the province plans to conduct a COVID-19 crisis survey of small businesses in the province three times from next month’s 1st through the end of December, targeting 35,000 small business sites.

Kim Ki-young, Director of the Job Economy Bureau of Gyeongnam Province, said, “Through the ‘Gyeongnam Small Business Hope Friends Project,’ we aim to provide public jobs to small business owners going through difficult times due to COVID-19 and to conduct a survey to establish support policies that reflect the voices of small business owners in the field.”