Yongsan-gu Issues Disaster Small Business (Small Merchant) Certification for Itaewon Tragedy

[Seoul District News] Yongsan-gu to Accept Required Documents Until December 30 at Separate Reception on 4th Floor of District Office for Itaewon 1 and 2-dong Small Business Owners Facing Difficulties Related to October 29 Itaewon Disaster

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Park Hee-young) will issue disaster small business (small merchant) certificates from the 9th to the 30th to support small business owners struggling due to the October 29 Itaewon tragedy.

As the district was declared a special disaster zone, special support for damage recovery is being provided.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups decided to support small business owners who suffered sales losses due to the rapid decline of commercial districts within the limits of funds and guarantees according to the scale of damage per business.

To apply for support, a disaster small business (small merchant) certificate issued by the district office is required. The certificate issuance targets small business owners who have stores and operate in Itaewon 1-dong and 2-dong. Applicants must prepare the necessary documents and visit a separate reception desk set up in the Finance and Economy Bureau meeting room on the 4th floor of Yongsan-gu Office. However, those who opened their business after October 30 are excluded.

Required documents include ▲Damage report related to the Itaewon incident ▲Copy of business registration certificate (including corporate registry for corporate businesses) ▲Objective sales proof documents such as POS sales and card sales data through VAN companies ▲Small business confirmation certificate, etc.

The district reviews the submitted applications and documents to determine eligibility and support scale, then issues the disaster small business (small merchant) certificate. Bringing the issued certificate, applicants can receive support by visiting commercial banks (pure credit or secured loans) or the Yongsan branch of the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation (guaranteed loans) within 30 days.

Emergency management stabilization funds support up to 70 million KRW per business, with interest rates reduced by an additional 0.5 percentage points from 2.0% to 1.5%. The loan period is also extended from 5 years to 7 years. Regional credit guarantee foundation guarantees support up to 200 million KRW per business. The guarantee ratio is raised to 100%, and the guarantee fee is preferentially set at 0.1% (fixed).

A district official said, “The Itaewon commercial district has rapidly shrunk since the tragedy,” adding, “We will make multifaceted efforts to revive the commercial district.”

Meanwhile, the district not only supports emergency small business loans worth 2 billion KRW in the second half of the year but also provides local tax support for small business owners who suffered sales declines and other damages due to the tragedy. This indirect support includes extensions of local tax filing and payment deadlines, collection deferrals, delinquency disposition deferrals, and tax audit postponements to alleviate tax burdens.