President Yoon's First Attendance at the 'Korea Small Business Conference'
Mentions Expansion of Ministry of SMEs Support Budget... "Will Reduce High-Interest Burden"
Promises Full Waiver of Disaster Relief Fund Repayments and Installment Payment Plan for Gas Bills
President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 3rd, "To reduce the financial burden caused by high interest rates on small business owners, we are preparing a special support measure to reflect about 4 trillion won in low-interest loan funds in next year’s budget and convert existing loans into low-interest loans." This remark was made during a meeting with small business owners, indicating that the loan support budget (3.8 trillion won) prepared by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups for next year is expected to increase.
On the same day, President Yoon attended the '2023 Korea Small Business Owners Conference' held at KINTEX in Ilsan in the morning, and conveyed the government’s support intention by saying, "Recently, the Presidential Office visited dozens of livelihood sites and heard the desperate cries of struggling citizens."
President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers an encouragement speech at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Korea Small Business Owners Conference held at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 3rd. [Photo by Yonhap News]
The Small Business Owners Conference has been held annually since 2006, marking its 18th year this year. It is an event designed to raise social and economic awareness of small business owners and promote communication and harmony among them. This year is the first time a president has attended.
Aligned with the slogan "Small Business Owners Among the People, Key Players in Korea’s Economy," President Yoon promised to expand government support for small business owners. First, he mentioned allocating about 4 trillion won in low-interest loan funds in next year’s budget. This reflects the increasing economic uncertainties due to the complex crisis this year, and implies an increase from the originally planned 3.8 trillion won loan supply by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
Regarding the disaster relief funds prepaid during the COVID-19 period, the government decided to fully exempt the repayment of 800 billion won. This was discussed at last week’s high-level government-party meeting, reflecting the fact that the support was urgently provided without sales data at the time, and that neither the administrative agency nor the small business owners were at fault. The target includes the first and second rounds of small business disaster relief funds (up to 2 million won per person) provided from September 2020 to December 2021. The People Power Party has already proposed a revision to the 'Small Business Support Act' to exempt repayments.
Additionally, to reduce the increasing burden of energy and raw material costs, a gas bill installment payment system will be implemented, and support will be provided to replace 64,000 outdated heating and cooling units. Furthermore, the government plans to actively promote nationwide year-round consumer festivals and special discount events for Onnuri gift certificates.
Earlier, on the 1st, President Yoon chaired an emergency economic livelihood meeting and strongly criticized the monopoly of banks while announcing expanded support for small business owners. He said, "Despite the fact that default rates on small business and household loans are lower than those of large corporations, the loan barriers for small business owners are too high," and questioned, "Small business and household loans are more stable, so why do banks operate with such an attitude?"
At the previous Cabinet meeting, President Yoon also viewed the loan repayment issues of small business owners and self-employed individuals seriously. He said, "It seems as if small business owners, struggling with high interest rates, are working themselves to death only to hand over all their earnings to repay loan principal and interest, almost like being servants to banks," and reviewed demands from small business organizations for financial support measures such as loan interest forgiveness and principal payment deferrals. A presidential office official added, "The government’s operational policy to prioritize livelihood and price management and actively reflect voices from the field in policy formulation will continue to expand."
Meanwhile, before the main event on the same day, President Yoon visited industry-specific booths operated by the Korea Makeup Beauty Association and the Pet Industry Federation, and offered words of encouragement to the finalists of the Small Business Skills Competition held during the conference, wishing them good results. He also awarded medals, decorations, and presidential citations to those who contributed to the development of small business owners.
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