Changwon Special City Supports Small Business Owners Affected at Masan Fish and Fruit Markets

'Recognition of Social Disaster', Support Such as Living Safety Allowance

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam has designated the recent fire at the Masan Fish Market's produce section as a social disaster and has decided to provide full support to help affected small business owners quickly return to their livelihoods.

Changwon Special City Mayor Hong Nampyo is consoling a merchant affected by the fire damage.

The city plans to provide a total of 6 million KRW in cash to each directly affected store. The details include: ▲ 3 million KRW for livelihood stabilization support ▲ 2 million KRW for disaster and recovery compensation ▲ 1 million KRW from donations by the Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Additionally, the city will provide financial support to help small business owners recover quickly and restart their businesses.

The details are as follows: ▲ For small business policy fund loans, up to 100 million KRW with an annual interest subsidy of 2.5% for one year and a 0.5% reduction in guarantee fees ▲ For emergency management stabilization fund loans from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, up to 100 million KRW with an annual interest subsidy of 2% for five years ▲ For management stabilization fund loans from Gyeongnam Bank, up to a total of 1 billion KRW with an annual interest rate of 1.5%. These measures are expected to help facilitate rapid self-reliance.

Changwon Special City Mayor Hong Nam-pyo stated, "I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the merchants affected by the Masan Fish Market produce section fire ahead of Chuseok. The city has decided to provide maximum cooperation and support to the merchants' association so that this fire can become an opportunity for a new beginning," adding, "We will also do our best to prevent such incidents in the future by thoroughly inspecting traditional markets for fire hazards."