Advance Payment of Disaster Relief Funds up to 7 Million Won for Small Business Owners

Deputy Minister O Gi-ung Visits Small Business Owners in Gongju City Affected by Heavy Rainfall

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 5th that it is providing disaster relief funds to stabilize the livelihoods of small business owners affected by the heavy rains in July. Gongju City, which was declared a special disaster area due to concentrated flood damage in July, is actively utilizing support programs for small business owners and is prepaying disaster relief funds of 7 million KRW to those affected by the flood damage.

On the same day, O Gi-ung, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, visited the Okryong-dong area of Gongju City, where many stores were flooded due to the overflow of Jemincheon during the heavy rains, and inspected the damage recovery status of small business owners and the payment status of flood damage recovery funds together with local government officials.

On the 29th, when a 'heavy rain warning' was issued in the Seoul metropolitan area, a water barrier was installed on the basement window in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The government explicitly included small business owners as beneficiaries of national subsidies and other support through amendments to the 'Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety' to support the recovery of small business owners from various disasters such as natural and social disasters in May. In June, it amended the 'Regulations on Standards for Burden of Relief and Recovery Costs for Natural Disasters' to explicitly provide support for small business owners during natural disasters, and in July, it established regulations for the payment of disaster relief funds to support damage relief and livelihood stabilization for small business owners during social disasters through amendments to the 'Regulations on Standards for Burden of Relief and Recovery Costs for Social Disasters.'

Additionally, to enable small business owners to quickly recover from damage and return to normal life promptly, disaster relief funds can be prioritized and provided using local government budgets even before the recovery plan is established. Vice Minister O said, "I hope other local governments will actively utilize the government's support programs for small business owners so that those affected by flood damage can quickly return to their workplaces."