Daejeon City Promotes 'Self-Employed Doctor System' to Support Small Business Owners

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Daejeon City is promoting the ‘Self-Employed Doctor System’ to support local small business owners.

According to the city on the 9th, the Self-Employed Doctor System operates broadly through consulting and management education programs for small business owners, as well as facility improvement support of up to 2 million KRW.

Participating businesses are given the opportunity to receive a preliminary diagnosis from experts with management know-how and customized one-on-one consulting on store conditions, including management techniques, marketing, and legal support.

Additionally, stores deemed to require improvements in their business environment through customized consulting can receive facility improvement support of up to 2 million KRW within 80% of the total project cost.

The city also provides professional management training to help individual small business owners grow into corporate-type small business owners through this support.

In particular, to expand a stable self-reliance foundation for businesses participating in the Self-Employed Doctor System, small business owners who complete all stages of the program will be eligible to receive growth funds of up to 20 million KRW as loans.

The small business growth funds are provided on the condition of a 2-year grace period with lump-sum repayment, and the city along with the Daejeon Job and Economy Promotion Agency will cover all interest and credit guarantee fees.

Applications to participate in the Self-Employed Doctor System can be made online or by visiting the Self-Employed Doctor System Operations Headquarters from the 10th to the 31st of this month.

After receiving applications, the city plans to select 400 local small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs, and finalize participants in order of highest scores through a review committee.

Application documents and other detailed information can be found on the Daejeon City Hall or Daejeon Job and Economy Promotion Agency websites.

Yu Cheol, head of the Small Business Division of the city, said, “Since the service sector for small business owners is easy to enter, closures are frequent, so external support is necessary for growth into corporate-type small business owners. The city will support consulting, management education, and facility improvements through the Self-Employed Doctor System so that small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs can grow into innovative self-employed business owners.”