Application Count 108,639, Contract Count 11,034
Advance Payment of 5 Million Won for Q4 Last Year and Q1 This Year
On the 19th, a small business owner visiting the Seoul Jungbu Center of the Small Enterprise and Market Service in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is signing an agreement to apply for the advance payment of COVID-19 loss compensation for small and micro businesses. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 20th that as of 11 a.m., 10,806 cases and 54.03 billion KRW have been paid out for the advance payment of COVID-19 loss compensation for small businesses and self-employed individuals.
As of 2 p.m. on the same day, the cumulative number of applications reached 108,639, which is about 19.7% of the total 550,000 eligible applicants. The cumulative number of agreements is 11,034.
An official from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "Currently, about 6,000 people are connected simultaneously, and the system is operating smoothly. Although the processing speed slowed down at times due to more small business owners and self-employed individuals accessing the system than expected, we are improving it through 24-hour monitoring and inspections."
The advance payment of loss compensation for small business owners, which began accepting applications on the 19th, proceeds in three stages: application, agreement, and payment.
The eligible applicants are 550,000 small businesses and small business owners who were subject to business hour restrictions starting December 6 of last year. Applicants confirmed as advance payment recipients will receive guidance on the agreement method via text message from the Small Enterprise and Market Service and can conclude the agreement on the same day.
Individual business owners can conclude the electronic agreement through the online system guided by text message. Corporate business owners or their representatives must visit the local center of the Small Enterprise and Market Service to conclude the agreement in person.
Once the agreement is concluded, 5 million KRW?2.5 million KRW each for the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year?will be paid within one business day. If the confirmed loss compensation later exceeds 5 million KRW, the difference will be paid in mid-next month when the fourth quarter loss compensation is disbursed.
The advance payment method involves paying a certain amount of loss compensation first to small business owners in urgent need, then deducting it from the confirmed loss compensation later. If the loss compensation is less than the advance payment, the difference will be deducted from the loss compensation, and the remaining amount can be repaid in installments over five years at a super-low interest rate of 1%, with no prepayment penalty.
To distribute simultaneous access, until the 23rd of this month, applications will be accepted based on the last digit of the representative’s resident registration number birth year in a '5-day application system.' From the 24th, applications will be accepted regardless of birth year.
During the 5-day application period, applications can be submitted daily from 9 a.m. to midnight, and from the 24th to the 4th of next month, applications will be accepted 24 hours a day.
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