Announcement of 7 Major Pledges for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed on the 20th
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, pledged on the 20th to introduce the United States' Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to support small business owners and self-employed individuals affected by COVID-19, and to issue 50 trillion won worth of local currency.
Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is announcing policy pledges for small business owners and self-employed workers at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 20th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
On this day, Lee held a press conference at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, where he announced the "7 Major Pledges for Small Business Owners and the Self-Employed," which included ▲introducing a Korean-style Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and significantly expanding local currency issuance to support rapid sales recovery ▲support for business re-start after closure ▲relief of rental burdens ▲guaranteeing the rights of the 'Eul' in the platform era ▲establishing a dedicated vice minister for small business owners and the self-employed within the Ministry of SMEs and Startups ▲field-oriented support ▲comprehensive support for micro small business owners.
To support the rapid sales recovery of small business owners, Lee said, "We will introduce a Korean-style fixed cost repayment reduction loan system that adopts the US PPP model to reduce repayments of fixed costs such as rent and labor costs for maintaining employment, regardless of the company's sales."
He also stated, "As important as compensation for losses is sales recovery," adding, "During my term, I will issue local currency with an annual target of 50 trillion won to revitalize neighborhood commercial districts, which are the livelihood bases of ordinary people."
Lee announced plans to expand support for small business owners and self-employed individuals who are forced to close their businesses due to national disasters and to consider livelihood support. He said, "The employment insurance subscription rate for the self-employed is only 0.5%," and added, "We will identify and resolve the reasons why the self-employed avoid employment insurance."
He also revealed plans to introduce systems to alleviate the rental burden on tenant merchants.
Lee said, "During infectious disease disaster situations, we will prohibit contract termination, refusal to renew, and forced eviction of tenant merchants due to rent arrears," and added, "We will create fair rent guidelines by linking sales fluctuations with rent adjustment ratios to establish a standard plan that will help facilitate voluntary rent negotiations."
He also emphasized fair order in the online platform market. He said, "We must prevent the abuse of power and arbitrary actions by some large corporations," and added, "We will supplement and improve laws and systems so that small business owners can gain competitiveness and become the center of commercial districts in the emerging online platform market."
Additionally, he pledged to establish a dedicated vice minister for small business owners and the self-employed within the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and to significantly strengthen field-oriented support centered on local commercial districts.
Addressing the People Power Party, Lee said, "Along with strengthening quarantine measures, prompt and bold support and compensation for small business owners and the self-employed require swift legislative action by the National Assembly," emphasizing, "The large-scale compensation support of 50 trillion or 100 trillion won mentioned by candidate Yoon Seok-yeol and Chairman Kim Jong-in is needed now, not later. Rapid budget allocation must be ensured."
He also urged the government to prepare a supplementary budget. Lee added, "I hope that the supplementary budget will be urgently pursued, reflecting the consensus between the ruling and opposition parties on large-scale support."
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