Sejong City, 3-Month Water Bill Reduction for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Sejong City will temporarily reduce water service charges for local small business owners and self-employed individuals.

The city announced on the 22nd that it will reduce water service charges by 50% for three months starting next month. The reduction applies to general use and public bathhouse categories among the water service charge billing sectors, excluding residential use.

Additionally, among general use sectors, public institutions, large and medium-sized enterprises, universities, military units, and golf courses are not included in the reduction.

The reduction is implemented to support self-employed individuals, small business owners, and small and medium-sized enterprises facing business difficulties due to decreased sales caused by reduced consumption amid COVID-19.

The charges will be uniformly reduced by 50% of the usage fee without a separate application process from the consumers. The city estimates the total amount of water service charge reductions to be approximately 868 million KRW.

According to Article 36 of the Water Supply Ordinance, elementary, middle, and high schools, kindergartens, daycare centers, elderly medical welfare facilities, and affordable price businesses that are already receiving reductions will receive an additional reduction equal to the difference if the current reduction amount is greater than the existing one.

Lee Seong-han, head of the city's Water and Sewage Department, said, “We hope that the water service charge reduction will provide some help to self-employed individuals, small business owners, and small and medium-sized enterprises struggling due to COVID-19 and serve as a stimulus to the stagnant local economy.”