Yoon: "2.4 Trillion Won Interest Refund of 1 Million Won Each for Self-Employed and Small Business Owners"

Public Discussion on Policies for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed
Threshold for Simplified Taxpayers Raised from 80 Million Won to 104 Million Won in Annual Sales

President Yoon Suk-yeol announced on the 8th that "in cooperation with the financial sector, interest will be refunded to 2.28 million self-employed individuals and small business owners, with an average of 1 million KRW per person, totaling 2.4 trillion KRW."

On the morning of the same day, at Layer57, a complex cultural space in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, during a public discussion themed "Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Business Owners Running Together, A Livable Economy," President Yoon stated, "We will ease the increased burden of interest, taxes, and utility charges caused by high inflation and high interest rates."

President Yoon emphasized that small business owners and the self-employed are "the backbone and support of the national economy" and "always the top policy priority." During his presidential campaign, he announced saving small business owners and the self-employed as his first pledge, and immediately after the government was launched in May 2022, 50 trillion KRW was invested to compensate for losses from COVID-19 business restrictions and to support recovery.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In addition to interest refunds, support will be provided through consultation desks to help switch from high-interest loans to low-interest loans, and the threshold for simplified taxpayers will be significantly raised from an annual sales of 80 million KRW to 104 million KRW to reduce the tax burden on self-employed individuals and small business owners. President Yoon said, "This is the maximum extent the government can do through presidential decrees without legal amendments," and promised, "We will further reduce the VAT burden on the self-employed through future legal revisions." He also mentioned plans to reduce electricity bills by 200,000 KRW for 1.26 million small business owners.

There is also a plan to drastically improve unreasonable regulations on small business owners and the self-employed. For example, the current law punishes only the seller when a minor uses a forged or altered ID to purchase alcohol or cigarettes. The law will be amended so that if the self-employed can prove they checked the ID through CCTV or mobile phone cameras, they can be exempted from administrative penalties, and the business suspension period will be reduced from two months to one week.

President Yoon pointed out, "Self-employed individuals who operate food and hospitality businesses diligently suffer great damage but have nowhere to complain. Even if caught just once, they face harsh penalties of two months' business suspension, and they must prove their innocence themselves to be exempted, leaving them no way to seek relief even when wronged."

More than 1,160 living regulations will be thoroughly investigated to immediately abolish unfair regulations. For traditional liquor manufacturing small business owners, quality certification fees will be reduced, and for automobile license plate issuance agencies, the standards will be rationalized to allow operation even if the required hydraulic press machine is shared or rented instead of owned.

Plans to alleviate labor shortages through the introduction of foreign workers were also introduced. President Yoon said, "We will introduce a record-high 165,000 foreign workers to resolve chronic labor shortages in manufacturing and construction sectors," and added, "We will also extend the employment period for outstanding foreign students and allow professional internship activities."

To support venture and startup innovation leadership, he explained, "We will create a lead fund by investing 1.6 trillion KRW from the Small and Medium Business Mother Fund in the first quarter to induce private investment and recover momentum in venture investment," and "We will establish youth startup hubs and innovation zones like Station F in Paris, France, to foster regulatory innovation and become a global market base."

[Image source=Yonhap News]