On this day, 1.76 million small business owners applied for the Saeheung Hope Fund
73% of the 2.57 trillion won rapid payment target amount
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 28th that it plans to disburse 1.89 trillion KRW to 1.76 million small business owners who applied for the New Hope Fund for Small Business Owners.
As of the payment date, the number of applicants for the New Hope Fund for Small Business Owners accounts for 73% of the 2.41 million eligible for rapid payment. It will disburse 73% of the rapid payment target amount of 2.57 trillion KRW by this date.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups had already paid 776.5 billion KRW on the 25th to 720,000 small business owners who applied on the 24th. For the 1.04 million applications amounting to 1.1161 trillion KRW received from the 25th to the 27th, payments will begin at 3 a.m. on the 28th and be completed by the morning.
Originally, to receive payment before Chuseok, applications had to be submitted by 5 p.m. on the 28th, but the Ministry, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, and partner banks improved the system through network expansion and cooperation so that applications received by the morning of the 29th, the day before the Chuseok holiday, can also receive payments on the 29th.
Applications will continue to be accepted online during the Chuseok holiday period. Applications received during the holiday will be paid on October 5, immediately after the holiday.
The Ministry currently identifies seven special damage industries, including singing practice rooms, by national tax codes and pays 1.5 million KRW or 2 million KRW accordingly.
However, to provide some support to as many small business owners as possible before Chuseok, even special damage industries whose payments are scheduled after October are currently receiving 1 million KRW if they qualify under the general industry criteria.
For the remaining special damage industries beyond the seven identified by national tax codes, the Ministry is receiving lists of business suspension and operation restriction from local governments. Therefore, the payment schedule is inevitably delayed until after the Chuseok holiday, according to the Ministry.
Once the lists are secured from local governments after the Chuseok holiday and confirmed as special damage industries, small business owners who have only received 1 million KRW will be paid an additional 500,000 KRW or 1 million KRW, and those who were omitted from the rapid payment target will receive 1.5 million KRW or 2 million KRW.
Taekwondo dojangs in the metropolitan area fall under the special damage industries subject to business suspension and will be supported with 2 million KRW through applications after Chuseok. Sports dojangs such as Taekwondo, Judo, and Boxing are difficult to identify by national tax codes, so they will inevitably receive business suspension lists from local governments and be supported after the Chuseok holiday.
Lee Euncheong, head of the Small Business Policy Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Among those who received text messages for rapid payment before Chuseok, 650,000 people have not yet applied, amounting to 680 billion KRW. Regardless of whether you received the text message, please search 'New Hope Fund' on search engines like Naver and Daum, access the dedicated website, check if you are eligible for rapid payment, and apply," she urged.
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