Gwangju Nam-gu Provides Heating Cost Support to Small Business Owners

Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, will provide special heating cost support ranging from 100,000 KRW to a maximum of 300,000 KRW by industry to tenant small business owners with annual sales under 200 million KRW who are struggling with rising heating expenses.

This is the second special support measure following the recent provision of heating costs to energy-vulnerable residents such as single-parent families and households eligible for emergency welfare.

On the 27th, Nam-gu announced, "The business environment for small business owners is deteriorating due to factors such as sluggish consumption and increases in public utility charges," adding, "We will urgently inject 1.047 billion KRW of district funds to stabilize the business environment of tenant small business owners in the district."

The reason for supporting tenant small business owners is that the wholesale price of industrial city gas jumped from 11.1 KRW per unit to 33.2 KRW as of December last year, and electricity rates were raised three times last year by 19.3 KRW per kWh, followed by an increase of 13.1 KRW per kWh in the first quarter of this year.

Accordingly, from today until April 28, heating costs will be supported in cash once per business to 10,330 tenant small business owners with annual sales under 200 million KRW, including VAT.

However, small business owners who own their business premises, businesses that have closed or relocated to other regions, entertainment, leisure, and gambling industries, commission stores within large-scale stores, non-profit individual businesses, corporations, and organizations are excluded from support.

The support amount ranges from a minimum of 100,000 KRW to a maximum of 300,000 KRW depending on the industry.

In particular, lodging, bathhouse, and flower cultivation industries, which have suffered significant damage due to rising energy costs, will receive 300,000 KRW per business regardless of whether they are tenant or owner-operated small business owners. A total of 70 businesses are identified within Nam-gu.

Applications for heating cost support can be submitted by visiting the 17 administrative welfare centers in the district or the Economic Policy Division of Nam-gu Office, or by email.

Kim Byeong-nae, the district mayor, stated, "We will expedite the execution of heating cost support to help tenant small business owners in the district wisely overcome the crisis and manage their stores stably."