Gwangju Dong-gu's 'Customized Heating Cost Support' Plays a Key Role in Stabilizing Small Business Management

Adding Care to Project Promotion Including 1-Month Extension of Application Period

Highest Application Rate Among 5 Autonomous Districts... Raising Resident Awareness

Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, has played a significant role in stabilizing the management of small business owners by providing customized heating cost support.

On the 4th, Dong-gu announced that it had supported a total of approximately 395 million KRW to 2,930 business sites in the district through the 'Customized Heating Cost Support Project.'

In March, Dong-gu launched the 'Dong-gu-type Customized Heating Cost Support' project targeting small business owners who were experiencing management difficulties due to an unusual cold wave and soaring heating costs. Applications for support were accepted until last month from small business owners leasing premises in Dong-gu with annual sales under 200 million KRW (including some self-owned businesses in certain industries).

Unlike other districts in Gwangju, the 'Dong-gu-type Customized Heating Cost Support Project' attracted particular attention from small business owners because it uniquely contributed to stabilizing their management through a 'three-step segmented customized support' by industry.

This support was classified as follows: 300,000 KRW for 64 locations including lodging, greenhouses (houses), flower farms, and bathhouse businesses; 200,000 KRW for 896 locations including general restaurants, cafes, bakeries, laundry services, and pet-related businesses; and 100,000 KRW for 1,970 locations in other industries, which was evaluated to have increased residents' perceived benefits.

In particular, the application period, originally until the end of April, was extended by one month to ensure that no small business owners missed out on benefits due to lack of information, demonstrating meticulous project implementation.

As a result, among the five districts of Gwangju, Dong-gu had the highest application rate and received praise for proactively engaging in active administration to resolve the difficulties faced by small business owners.

Im Taek, Mayor of Dong-gu, said, “I hope the heating cost support project, implemented to help small business owners struggling with prolonged economic downturn, high interest rates, high prices, and rising heating costs, has been of assistance to many.” He added, “We will continue to pursue meticulous and diverse support to revitalize the local economy and help small business owners overcome crises.”