"Please Earn a Lot in Heaven"... Self-Employed Suffering from Financial Hardship Face a 'Bitter Hangawi'

Accumulated Damage from Prolonged COVID-19 Pandemic
Business Owners' Extreme Choices Continue
Company Calls for "Fair and Balanced Quarantine Policies"

On the 16th, chrysanthemums and food were placed at the incense altar set up by the "National Emergency Countermeasures Committee for Self-Employed in Response to COVID-19 (Jadae-wi)" in front of Seoul National Assembly Station. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] A self-employed man in his 40s who ran away from home due to financial hardship was found dead on a mountain in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, sparking sorrow. Amid the prolonged social distancing measures, cases of self-employed individuals making extreme choices due to unbearable business difficulties continue unabated. The industry insists that these people have already reached their limits and urges a shift in quarantine guidelines to alleviate the suffering of self-employed workers.

According to the Suncheon Police Station in Jeollanam-do, at around 10:07 a.m. on the 19th, a body presumed to be that of a self-employed man in his 40s, identified as Mr. A, was found on a mountain in Suncheon. At the time of discovery, the body was already in an advanced state of decomposition, but Mr. A’s vehicle and ID were found at the foot of the mountain.

The police responded to a report on the previous day (18th) about a vehicle parked for about half a month in front of the mountain. When found, the car door was open and the keys were still in the ignition.

The police confirmed that the vehicle belonged to Mr. A, who was reported missing from Muan on June 17. Subsequently, the police mobilized about 80 people, including volunteer firefighters, to conduct a search, and on the second day, they found Mr. A’s body.

Mr. A was a self-employed person running an agricultural supplies delivery business. However, he had recently been suffering from financial difficulties to the extent of filing for bankruptcy due to increasing debts. On June 6, he left home after telling his family that he wanted to leave, and contact was lost thereafter.

The police suspect that Mr. A took his own life and are investigating the exact cause of death.

The funeral hall of the owner of a beer pub in Mapo-gu, Seoul, who faced business difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and took an extreme step / Photo by Yonhap News

As the domestic economy has frozen due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, self-employed individuals are complaining of severe business difficulties. Cases of self-employed people making extreme choices due to unbearable financial hardship are also increasing.

On the 7th, Mr. B, the owner of a pub in Mapo-gu, Seoul, was found dead at his home. Mr. B had been running the pub for about 20 years since 1999 and was reportedly thriving to the extent that by the end of the year, only group customers were accepted.

However, the situation drastically changed since last year when COVID-19 struck. As social distancing measures were strengthened, customers stopped coming, and store sales plummeted to about one-third of the usual level. Mr. B was reportedly pushed to a point where he could not even afford the monthly rent or employee salaries. Eventually, after his last phone call with an acquaintance on the 31st of last month, contact was lost, and he was recently found cold and lifeless.

As deaths among self-employed individuals continue, social networking services (SNS) and online communities have been flooded with posts from self-employed people saying, "This doesn’t feel like someone else’s problem." They expressed condolences with comments such as, "How desperate must they have been to make such a choice," "I understand your situation," and "Please earn lots of money in heaven."

The suffering of self-employed individuals continues even during the Chuseok holiday period. Earlier, the government extended the current Level 4 social distancing measures in the metropolitan area until October 3.

A store in Euljiro, Seoul, with a closure notice posted on the afternoon of the 18th of last month / Photo by Yonhap News

Self-employed individuals are already pushed to their limits. According to the 'National Statistical Portal,' from January to July, the real sales of industries such as restaurants and pubs fell by 7.2% compared to the same period last year, marking the lowest level since statistics began in 2010.

Recently, operating hours for restaurants and cafes were extended to 10 p.m., and the gathering limit was raised to six people, including those who have completed vaccination, easing some restrictions. However, these measures are far from sufficient to recover the accumulated losses.

The industry has urged the government to further relax quarantine guidelines to help self-employed individuals.

Lee Chang-ho, president of the National Hof Association, issued a statement on the 13th, saying, "Although it is just a one-sentence news article, it came as a huge shock to those working in the field," and emphasized, "The government must implement equitable quarantine policies and overcome the current situation that demands sacrifices only from self-employed people."

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