Small Business Disaster Relief Fund Up to 5 Million Won Discussed... Supplementary Budget Expected Around 15 Trillion Won

Including Special Workers, Freelancers, and Vaccine Budgets... Estimated Around 15 Trillion Won

Two days before the Lunar New Year holiday, on the 9th, citizens are purchasing ritual items at Gyeongdong Market in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The government and the ruling party plan to provide the 4th disaster relief fund in varying amounts depending on the degree of sales loss experienced by small business owners.

According to the ruling party and government on the 21st, they are considering a plan to provide the 4th disaster relief fund in fixed amounts based on the extent of sales decline. Small business owners whose sales decreased by up to 10% will receive 1 million KRW, those with up to a 30% decrease will receive 1.5 million KRW, and those with up to a 50% decrease will receive 2 million KRW.

When the government previously distributed the 3rd disaster relief fund as a fixed amount without considering sales decline, some opposition arose.

Accordingly, the maximum support amount for businesses subject to gathering bans, business restrictions, and general businesses is expected to be between 4 million and 5 million KRW.

The eligibility criteria for general business support will also be raised from annual sales of 400 million KRW to annual sales of up to 1 billion KRW. Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, stated regarding this, "We are considering providing disaster relief funds to small business owners with annual sales of up to 1 billion KRW."

Support for vulnerable employment groups such as special-type workers (teukgo) and freelancers is also under consideration. Discussions are ongoing about extending the emergency employment stabilization fund by three months or providing fixed amounts of 500,000 KRW or 1 million KRW.

Meanwhile, the total scale of the first supplementary budget is expected to be around 15 trillion KRW. This is due to the addition of employment crisis recovery programs, additional vaccine purchase costs, and quarantine expenses to the initially proposed selective disaster relief fund.