Gwangju Nam-gu Reduces 6 Months of Office Rent and Public Property Lease Fees

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (District Mayor Kim Byeong-nae) announced on the 7th that “due to the activation of the Good Landlord Movement and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic causing a contraction in the local commercial district and increasing damage to small business owners, the rent for the Nam-gu Office building for the six months from January to June this year will be reduced by 25%, and the lease fees for public property will be reduced by up to 80%.”

First, for the nine tenant companies located in the Nam-gu General Office building, a 25% rent reduction will be applied in accordance with the Act on the Protection and Support of Small Businesses.

The six-month rent for the nine companies amounts to 69.36 million KRW (an average of 11.56 million KRW per month), and with the 25% rent reduction, they will receive a discount of 17.34 million KRW.

Previously, Nam-gu had waived 19.89 million KRW in rent for tenants from April to December last year, when the spread of COVID-19 was intensifying.

There are 3,510 parcels of public land owned by the district office, and small and medium-sized enterprises, small business owners, and individual business operators using these public properties can also receive lease fee reductions of up to 80%.

This is in accordance with the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises, the Act on the Protection and Support of Small Businesses, and the Act on the Management of Public Property and Goods, and it has been identified that the district office land is being used for purposes such as parking lots.

The amount of lease fee reduction for six months this year is approximately 12.95 million KRW, and last year Nam-gu also waived a total of 23.16 million KRW in lease fees as part of efforts to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.

A Nam-gu official said, “In the difficult economic situation caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, this rent and lease fee reduction will be like a rain in a drought, providing practical relief to small enterprises and small business owners,” and added, “We hope this will be a small help in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis.”

Meanwhile, Nam-gu recently decided to reduce rent for photo studios located in the basement of the Nam-gu Office building as well as for future tenant companies.

Also, if individual business operators using public property request lease fee reductions, the district will carefully review the extent of damage and provide benefits accordingly. However, those subject to penalty charges and those without direct damage from COVID-19, such as residential or farming use, will be excluded from support.