Mayor Ahn Seung-nam Urges Government to Prepare Drastic Measures for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed

An Seung-nam, Mayor of Guri

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] An Seung-nam, mayor of Guri City, urged the government and the National Assembly to promptly prepare special measures for small business owners and self-employed individuals.

On the 25th, Mayor An attended a joint press conference at the National Assembly, hosted by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Deuk-gu, calling for amendments to the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act for small business owners. He emphasized, "We must seriously recognize that small business owners and self-employed individuals, who form the foundation of our country's economy, were the frontline workers who most diligently followed the government's quarantine guidelines."

He continued, "Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, small business owners and self-employed individuals are facing a survival crisis as their sales and income have sharply declined and cases of business closures are rapidly increasing."

Mayor An also lamented, "It has already been a year since the first COVID-19 case was reported, and we are still trapped in that long tunnel, with the suffering and damage to the people being indescribably tragic."

At the joint press conference, heads of four local governments including Guri, Goyang, Gwangmyeong, and Siheung participated together.

The local leaders strongly demanded that the National Assembly take responsibility for processing the amendment to the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act and prepare and promote a 'Tenant + Landlord Win-Win Grand Compromise Plan' to ensure coexistence and mutual growth between landlords and tenants.

The amendment to the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act, proposed by lawmaker Kang Deuk-gu, includes protection measures for small business owners who cannot operate normally due to disasters such as infectious disease outbreaks and natural disasters.

Additionally, in cases where business operations are inevitably suspended due to national-level assembly bans or restrictions caused by infectious disease outbreaks, the amendment includes provisions for lease term extensions, exclusion of arrears calculation, and mandatory extension and deferment of interest repayment periods by financial institutions when landlords take out loans secured by leased buildings.

Meanwhile, in December of last year, Guri City, along with six other local governments in Gyeonggi Province including Goyang, Ansan, Siheung, Paju, Gwangmyeong, and Anseong, issued a joint statement urging rent reduction measures for small business owners severely affected by COVID-19.