Ministry of SMEs and Startups Announces Status of Betimok Fund Plus Payments on 18th
Additional Support for 416,000 Businesses with Semiannual Sales Decline
"Eliminating Blind Spots"... Online Applications Available from 19th
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has provided approximately 4 trillion won in support funds to 2.315 million small business owners and small enterprises, accounting for 93% of the 'Butemok Fund Plus' project targets. Additionally, to address blind spots, it plans to support about 510,000 more businesses starting tomorrow (the 19th).
The Ministry announced on the 18th that since the first rapid payment of Butemok Fund Plus began on the 29th of last month, about 4 trillion won has been paid to 2.315 million small business owners and small enterprises, which is 93% of the total 2.5 million eligible businesses, as of the 16th.
The Ministry has guided applicants through mobile texts, messengers, and phone calls four times to those eligible for rapid payment. Business owners who have not yet received support can apply through the dedicated Butemok Fund Plus website.
Furthermore, the Ministry will add 511,000 more businesses to the second rapid payment target of Butemok Fund Plus. Starting from the 19th, notification texts will be sent to eligible recipients, and online applications will be accepted.
The newly added support targets include ▲416,000 businesses with decreased sales in semi-annual comparisons ▲75,000 businesses opened after December 2020 ▲10,000 businesses in management crisis industries with sales exceeding 1 billion won ▲10,000 businesses subject to gathering bans or business restrictions.
The Ministry selected businesses with decreased annual sales compared to 2019 as the first rapid payment targets for businesses under business restrictions and general industries.
However, the industry pointed out that excluding businesses from support just because their annual sales slightly increased compared to the previous year was unreasonable. Reflecting this, businesses with decreased sales in semi-annual comparisons were added to the second rapid payment targets.
When comparing only annual sales, blind spots occur where businesses with large sales differences between the first and second half due to seasonal factors are excluded from support.
A Ministry official explained, "For the second rapid payment, we added 416,000 businesses whose sales decreased in semi-annual comparisons such as the first half of 2019 versus the first half of 2020 or the second half of 2019 versus the second half of 2020."
Notification texts for application guidance will be sent from 6 a.m. on the 19th to business owners newly added as support targets in the second rapid payment. Those who receive the notification can apply online through the dedicated Butemok Fund Plus website.
Applications for the second rapid payment can be made regardless of whether the business registration number is odd or even. However, to add more payment targets, the website will be temporarily suspended from 12 p.m. to midnight on the 18th, during which applications will not be accepted.
For businesses that received support in the first rapid payment but have increased support amounts this time, the difference will be paid starting from the 22nd without a separate application.
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