‘Overcoming the Energy Crisis’ Daejeon Food and Public Hygiene Businesses Receive 200,000 Won Each in Support

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Daejeon City will provide 200,000 KRW each to local food and public hygiene businesses struggling due to the energy crisis. The support funds are expected to be distributed to about 36,000 businesses within the city.

On the 21st, the city held a policy briefing chaired by Mayor Lee Jang-woo of Daejeon and announced an emergency support plan to overcome the energy crisis.

The emergency support plan includes 200,000 KRW energy subsidies for small business owners, a three-month deferral of city gas payments from February to April for small business owners such as restaurants, the establishment of an emergency energy management stabilization fund worth 20 billion KRW, freezing water and sewage fees in the first half of this year, and adjusting the timing of fee increases.

First, the city plans to postpone the scheduled increase in water and sewage fees from the May billing cycle to the July billing cycle this year.

By adjusting the timing of the increase, small business owners are expected to reduce their burden by 1.4 billion KRW for water fees and 1.8 billion KRW for sewage fees.

Additionally, a total of 7.3 billion KRW (200,000 KRW per business) in energy subsidies will be provided to food and public hygiene businesses to help overcome the energy crisis.

The support targets businesses that registered, reported, or obtained permission to operate in Daejeon before December 31 of last year and are currently operating in Daejeon as of the application date.

Applications can be submitted from March 20 to April 20 via the Daejeon Job and Economy Promotion Agency website or in person.

For 19,895 small businesses with a high proportion of city gas fuel usage, such as restaurants, city gas payments from February to April can be deferred for three months each.

Small business owners wishing to defer city gas payments must complete a non-face-to-face application through the CNCOTY Energy Co., Ltd. call center or website between February 27 and March 31.

The city has newly established an emergency energy management stabilization fund worth 20 billion KRW, the first of its kind nationwide, to subsidize interest at 2.25% for local small and medium-sized enterprises borrowing up to 50 million KRW.

Furthermore, the city plans to provide an additional 7.39 billion KRW using disaster relief funds as emergency heating expenses for vulnerable groups such as basic livelihood security recipients, near-poverty groups, social welfare facilities, and senior centers.

Through this, 70,350 households of basic livelihood security recipients and near-poverty groups will receive 100,000 KRW each (totaling 7 billion KRW), and 1,169 city-supported facilities and senior centers will receive additional support of up to 1 million KRW per month for two months (totaling 390 million KRW) depending on facility size.

Mayor Lee said, “We have prepared emergency support measures for small business owners and SMEs burdened by rising energy costs,” adding, “The city will continue to strive to reduce the economic burden on low-income and vulnerable groups and to develop and implement energy crisis response policies that citizens can feel.”

Meanwhile, on the 7th, Mayor Lee ordered a survey and countermeasure preparation for self-employed individuals and SMEs struggling with rising energy costs during an expanded executive meeting. The emergency support plan is a follow-up measure prepared in response to the mayor’s directive.

This plan is also significant in that it participates in the government’s 13th Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting (February 15) request to freeze public utility fees in the first half of the year and to reduce city gas fees for near-poverty groups, broadly supporting local small business owners and SMEs facing increased economic burdens due to rising energy costs.