Yoon: "Self-Employed and Small Business Owners to Receive Average Interest Refund of 1 Million Won Each" (Comprehensive)

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

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a speech at the "Public Discussion on Livelihoods with the People - Tenth Session, Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Business Owners Running Together, A Livable Economy" held on the 8th at Layer57 in Seongdong-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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 and small business owners, with an average of 1 million won per person, totaling 2.4 trillion won."

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 said, "We will ease the increased burden of interest, taxes, and public charges caused by high inflation and high interest rates."

President Yoon first emphasized that small business owners and the self-employed are "the backbone and support of the national economy," and stated, "The government will mobilize all policy means to help small business owners and the self-employed recover." During his presidential campaign, Yoon 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 won was invested to compensate for losses due to COVID-19 business restrictions and to support recovery.

In addition to interest refunds, President Yoon announced support through consultation desks to help those with high-interest loans switch to low-interest loans, and a significant increase in the simplified taxpayer threshold from an annual sales of 80 million won to 104 million won to reduce the tax burden on self-employed and small business owners. He 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 won for 1.26 million small business owners.

Yoon: "Amending the Law So That Only Sellers Are Not Punished When Youths Deceive"

Unreasonable regulations on small business owners and the self-employed will also be significantly improved. For example, the current law punishes only the seller when youths purchase alcohol or cigarettes using forged or altered IDs. The plan is to exempt administrative sanctions if the self-employed can prove they checked IDs through CCTV or mobile phone cameras, and to reduce business suspension from two months to one week.

President Yoon pointed out, "Self-employed people who run food and hospitality businesses diligently suffer great damage but have nowhere to complain. Even if caught only once, they face harsh penalties of two months' business suspension, and they must prove their innocence themselves to be exempted, leaving 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 issuing agencies, the standards will be rationalized to allow business operations even when sharing or renting the currently mandatory hydraulic press.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also introduced plans to alleviate labor shortages by introducing foreign workers. 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 permission period for outstanding foreign students and allow internships in specialized fields."

To lead innovation in ventures and startups, he explained, "We will create a pump-priming fund by investing 1.6 trillion won from the SME 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 innovate regulations and create global market bases."

Yoon: "Bank Cartels Should Not Be Maintained for Competitiveness"

In his closing remarks, President Yoon emphasized, "The most important thing is financial support," and said, "We will ensure that you, as financial consumers, suffer less from monopolistic damages by financial institutions and can receive loans under more favorable conditions." He added, "We cannot recklessly handle the 'hemp' of the industry, but banks must compete with each other and not maintain cartels to gain international competitiveness and create many quality financial jobs," and said, "This is good for the financial industry and advantageous for youths, small business owners, and the self-employed who receive loans."

Furthermore, President Yoon promised, "We will boldly improve unreasonable business regulations that cause pain to self-employed people who work diligently," and pledged, "Even if alcohol or cigarettes are purchased by deceiving age with forged or altered IDs, only the seller is punished under current law, but we will immediately start revising related laws so that honest self-employed people do not suffer damage."