Self-Employed Workers: "Our Day Is Despair Again... Please Allow Midnight Operations"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] A civic group of small business owners has demanded that the government devise measures to guarantee their right to survive.

Representatives of 17 small business civic groups, consisting of self-employed workers from restaurants, pubs, PC rooms, billiard halls, cafes, and coin karaoke rooms, held a press conference on the morning of the 28th in front of the Blue House fountain, calling for the formation of a public-private-government consultative body regarding extended business hours and compensation for business losses.

The groups stated, "Currently, it is most urgent for small business owners and the self-employed to be allowed to operate at least until midnight," and added, "If regulations related to loss compensation are established, the extensive gathering bans and restrictions will place a heavy burden on government finances, so a solution that balances the survival rights of small business owners with quarantine measures must be found."

Regarding the business loss compensation being promoted by the ruling party and government, they urged adherence to five key principles: retroactive application including last year, compensation regardless of company size or number of employees, substantial compensation for actual damages incurred, concurrent emergency loans, and shared pain among small business owners, government, landlords, and financial institutions.

They also requested the formation of a public-private-government consultative body to ensure that the voices of small business owners are heard when imposing gathering bans and business restrictions by industry or when preparing compensation measures.

The groups said, "Even today, the day for our small business owners and self-employed begins with despair. The more we open our stores, the greater the deficit grows, and due to the debts we have gathered over the past year trying to endure, living is no longer truly living," adding, "The government's superficial support funds and loan policies, which are practically unattainable, are instead driving small business owners and the self-employed further into despair."