Presiding Over the 10th Public Discussion Forum
Raising the Simplified Taxpayer Threshold to 104 Million Won
President Yoon Suk-yeol is having a special interview with KBS at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul on the 4th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
President Yoon Suk-yeol announced on the 8th that he will "ease the increased burden of interest, taxes, and utility charges caused by high inflation and high interest rates" to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners. He stated that by cooperating with the financial sector to reduce interest burdens and improving unreasonable business regulations imposed on self-employed individuals, as well as introducing a record-high 165,000 foreign workers, the government will address labor shortages.
President Yoon made these remarks during the tenth "Public Livelihood Discussion" held at the complex cultural space 'Layer57' in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, under the theme "SMEs and Small Business Owners Running Together, A Livable Economy."
He said, "In cooperation with the financial sector, we will refund a total of 2.4 trillion won in interest to 2.28 million self-employed and small business owners, averaging about 1 million won per person, and support refinancing from high-interest loans to low-interest loans." In particular, he promised to significantly raise the simplified taxpayer threshold from an annual sales of 80 million won to 104 million won to reduce tax burdens.
The discussion was organized to hear the vivid voices of small business owners and self-employed individuals who suffered from business hour restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to bear increased debt and high-interest burdens, and to discuss support measures for their recovery.
In his opening remarks, President Yoon described small business owners and the self-employed as the backbone and support of the national economy. He explained that since his candidacy, his first pledge was to "save small business owners and the self-employed," and that after the government’s inauguration, about 50 trillion won in finances have been invested in compensating for business restriction losses and supporting recovery for these groups.
Furthermore, President Yoon emphasized, "We will boldly improve unreasonable business regulations imposed on honest self-employed individuals." He added, "If a self-employed person verifies that a youth lied about their age to purchase alcohol or cigarettes by checking their ID, administrative penalties will be exempted, and excessive current business suspension standards will be reasonably adjusted." He also promised to conduct a full survey of about 1,160 lifestyle regulations applied to small business owners and the self-employed and immediately improve unfair regulations such as reducing fees for traditional liquor quality certification and relaxing facility and equipment standards required for automobile license plate issuance agencies.
President Yoon also presented plans to introduce foreign workers to alleviate labor shortages. He stated, "To resolve the chronic labor shortage in small manufacturing and construction companies, we will introduce a record-high 165,000 foreign workers and invest 1.6 trillion won from the Small and Medium Venture Fund in the first quarter of this year to restore momentum in venture investment." Additionally, he announced efforts to build a youth startup hub similar to 'Station-F' in Paris, France, and to create a global innovation special zone to foster an innovation ecosystem that enables SMEs, venture companies, and startups to leap into unicorns (unlisted companies valued at over 1 trillion won)."
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