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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] As non-face-to-face consumption increases, the delivery fee burden on small business owners has grown, prompting the government to launch a project that supports delivery fees with budget funds.
According to the government on the 24th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is planning to support part of the delivery fees for small business owners using delivery application (app) platforms starting next year.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to reduce the burden on small business owners by matching part of the delivery fees one-to-one between the government and platform companies. After operating a pilot project this year, it will be fully implemented from next year.
Assuming the delivery fee borne by small business owners is 4,000 KRW per order, half of that, 2,000 KRW, will be supported with 1,000 KRW each from the government and the platform company.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups first revealed this project as part of the 'COVID-19 Damage Recovery Support Plan for Small Business Owners' announced at the Government Seoul Office on the 23rd.
This year, as part of the online sales channel support project, the Ministry has been conducting a 4.8 billion KRW scale O2O (Online to Offline) platform entry support project. It has supported 16,000 small business owners using private platforms with 300,000 KRW each for order fees, advertising fees, and e-commerce coupon issuance costs.
Next year, separate from the O2O platform entry support project, a new project will be launched to support delivery fees specifically for the food service industry using delivery platforms.
However, the specific project budget size and support targets were not disclosed.
Park Chi-hyung, Director of Small Business Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said at a briefing, "The government will allocate several billion KRW, and the private sector will also contribute several billion KRW," adding, "We are planning so that many small business owners can benefit."
Although the government budget proposal for next year has already been submitted to the National Assembly, it is reported that there are still differences in opinion between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Economy and Finance regarding the budget size.
The pilot project to be implemented this year is also showing some indecision within the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
Lee Ha-nyeong, Director of the Online Economy Promotion Division at the Ministry, stated at a briefing on the 23rd, "The pilot project is underway with Baedal Minjok (Woowa Brothers)," but later, a responsible officer told Asia Economy in a phone call, "We plan to announce the pilot project soon," causing some confusion.
The officer said, "We are currently preparing the announcement. The pilot project is scheduled to start around early December," adding, "Since it is a platform company matching project, we have been looking for possible companies, and Baedal Minjok has expressed willingness to participate."
The industry has expressed concerns about the delivery fee support project. The cause of delivery fee increases is the shortage of riders, and if the government focuses only on supporting small business owners, 'delivery fee inflation' could occur.
An industry official said, "With government and large platform company subsidies added to the existing delivery fees, it could actually create room for delivery fee increases," adding, "Although the government project is temporary, once delivery fees rise, it is difficult to lower them, so careful consideration is needed."
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