Haenam-gun, Prioritizing Livelihood Stability with Emergency Response to Economic Crisis

Operation of Comprehensive Price Countermeasure Situation Room
715 Billion Won Invested to Promote 45 Economic Revitalization Projects

[Haenam=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] On the 25th, Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it will focus all its administrative capabilities on economic revitalization, prioritizing price stabilization and livelihood stabilization amid the deepening economic crisis following COVID-19.

Since January, the county has been operating a comprehensive price countermeasure situation room, and in June, it identified 45 projects for economic revitalization to proactively respond to the economic crisis.

The price and livelihood stabilization measures, with a total investment of about 71.5 billion KRW, will provide detailed support by class and sector, including management stabilization for small business owners and SMEs, price stabilization and consumption promotion of agricultural, fishery, and livestock products, and expanded support for low-income and vulnerable groups.

First, support will be implemented to stabilize the management of SMEs and small business owners who are directly hit by the economic crisis.

About 860 million KRW will be invested in 10 projects such as support for technology certification fees to strengthen SME competitiveness, 845 million KRW will be provided for three types of special guarantees for small business owners, 340 million KRW for card and delivery fee support, and more than 3.4 billion KRW will be invested in financial loss support for the bus industry.

The Haenam Love Gift Certificate, the largest scale among county-level units nationwide, is scheduled to be issued again this year with a scale of 145 billion KRW, and about 14.2 billion KRW will be supported for discount sales and other measures.

In particular, Haenam-gun will also promote its own price stabilization projects by freezing water and sewage fees and garbage bag prices managed by the county, and reducing water fees by 50% for small business owners for July and August.

To stabilize personal service fees, support for goods to good price businesses will be expanded, and a sound consumption campaign will be carried out in cooperation with private organizations to create an atmosphere of voluntary fee freezing.

Through focused support for agriculture and fisheries, which account for the largest share of Haenam-gun’s economy, price stabilization measures for agricultural, fishery, and livestock products will also be promoted.

Due to continuous oil price increases, the support period for 50% of the increase in tax-exempt fuel for agriculture and fisheries will be extended until October.

For livestock farmers, the loan amount for feed purchase funds will be expanded from 2.7 billion KRW to 12.7 billion KRW, the interest rate will be reduced by 0.8%, the repayment period extended up to three years, and 80% of the price increase difference for 31,870 tons of mineral fertilizer will be supported.

Broad support will be implemented for low-income and vulnerable groups exposed to the economic crisis.

About 2.1 billion KRW will be provided for temporary emergency living support for low-income groups, and the welfare mobile team operation, which supports small-scale housing inconvenience resolution and living stabilization funds, will be expanded to 472 households and operated year-round.

The Haenam Love Taxi operating in remote villages and voucher taxi services to guarantee mobility rights for transportation-vulnerable groups will be expanded with an investment of about 670 million KRW, 7.8 billion KRW annually will be provided for senior job and social activity support, and 880 million KRW will be allocated for emergency welfare projects.

County Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan said, “We are proactively responding by discovering support projects to cope with rapid price increases and livelihood crises. As signs of a global economic crisis are becoming more apparent after COVID-19, we will do our best to ensure that residents quickly benefit and that economic revitalization is swiftly driven.”

Haenam=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun alwatros@asiae.co.kr