"Active Consideration of Compensation System for Business Losses in COVID-19 Affected Industries" "Business Hours Should Be Applied According to the Characteristics of Tourist Zones"
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seoul Metropolitan Council member Noh Sik-rae (Democratic Party, Yongsan 2) visited the Prime Minister's Office at 2 p.m. on the 28th with merchants from Itaewon to deliver the demands of merchants struggling for survival and discuss measures to revitalize the commercial district.
On this day, Noh Sik-rae, along with Maeng Ki-hoon, president of the Itaewon Tourism Special Zone Association, Lee Ho-ik, who operates a general restaurant, and Hwang Yoon-chul and Lim Dong-wook, who run emotional pubs, visited the office of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister at the Gwanghwamun Government Complex. They met with Kim Sung-soo, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, to convey requests such as compensation for business losses and quarantine measures tailored to the characteristics of the tourism special zone, and exchanged opinions on these matters.
The Itaewon merchants expressed their difficulties, saying, "The day before, there was a media report that one out of every four to five stores in Seoul's representative commercial districts such as Itaewon, Myeongdong, and Gwanghwamun closed due to the shock of COVID-19, and among them, the vacancy rate of stores in the Itaewon commercial district was 26.7%, the worst. The actual economic situation felt on the ground is much more severe."
They also said, "Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun proposed legislating a plan for the government to compensate 70% of business losses for industries affected by COVID-19, which raised great expectations, but it seems to have regressed to the existing support method within a week, which is regrettable." They added, "Regarding the scope of finance and ways to secure resources, there are various discussions within the political circles, such as temporarily increasing income tax rates for COVID-19 beneficiary industries through a disaster special solidarity tax or a temporary earmarked tax, so please actively consider these."
Furthermore, they argued, "Each commercial district has different characteristics, and it is problematic to uniformly restrict business hours until 9 p.m. Itaewon, unlike other office-dense areas, starts business after working hours, so limiting it to 9 p.m. means only two hours of operation per day." They insisted, "For tourism special zones, it is realistic to limit business hours to seven hours from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m."
Itaewon merchants have voluntarily adhered to the highest level of quarantine standards since the first wave of COVID-19 in May, so they are requesting flexible standards that suit the characteristics of the commercial district.
Council member Noh Sik-rae, who met with the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister along with the merchants, said, "Various measures for citizens suffering from COVID-19 are being discussed by the government and political circles, but progress is slow compared to the urgency on the ground." He urged, "Please make efforts so that the voices of merchants can be promptly reflected in government policies."
He also pledged, "Together with the merchants, I will make every effort to revitalize Itaewon again during the Seoul mayoral election process and with the newly elected mayor of Seoul."
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