Applications open from the 30th, up to 30 million KRW with 1.5% annual interest rate
On the night of the 1st, a passenger car drove in the wrong direction at an intersection near Seoul City Hall, hitting pedestrians and causing 9 deaths. A temporary wall was installed along the roadside at the accident site, and someone placed chrysanthemums there. On the morning of the 2nd, commuters are passing by the area. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@
After it was found that sales of nearby small business owners dropped by about half due to the July “Sicheong Station Intersection Wrong-Way Driving Accident,” which claimed the lives of nine people by driving the wrong way on a road in the heart of downtown Seoul, Jung-gu has launched a loan support project for small business owners.
According to Jung-gu on the 23rd, an investigation into the sales decline caused by group reservation cancellations was conducted through meetings with the Bukchang-dong Commercial Association and visits to nearby stores after the accident. As a result, the total sales amount of Seoul Jung-gu Sarang Gift Certificate affiliated stores in Sogong-dong decreased by 52% around 10 days before and after the accident (based on Hana Card data).
Accordingly, Jung-gu announced that it will implement a loan support project targeting nearby small business owners experiencing difficulties due to decreased sales (some parts of Taepyeongno 2-ga and the entire Bukchang-dong area). For those applying for the fourth quarter Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund loan support project, which accepts applications starting from the 30th of this month, additional points will be awarded based on the average sales decrease rate between July-August compared to May-June before the accident: 3 points for a decrease rate of 10% or less, 5 points for 11-20%, 7 points for 21-30%, and 10 points for a decrease of 31% or more.
The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund offers support with a fixed annual interest rate of 1.5%, up to a maximum of 30 million KRW, with options for a 1-year grace period followed by 4 years of equal installment repayments or 5 years of equal installment repayments. Applicants must be small enterprises or small business owners with business locations in Jung-gu and have been registered as business operators for at least six months as of the application date.
Applications are accepted until October 8th. The district office plans to finalize the support recipients and loan amounts through the district office review committee in October, followed by loan screening by banks and guarantee institutions, and provide loans between October and December.
Since mid-July, Jung-gu has been implementing a regionally focused special guarantee for small business owners in some parts of Taepyeongno 2-ga and the entire Bukchang-dong area, and has executed loans totaling about 300 million KRW to around 10 businesses so far. The regionally focused special guarantee is a system where the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation issues guarantee certificates with relaxed screening criteria upon the district’s request, enabling loans.
A Jung-gu official stated, “We will prepare and implement effective measures so that small business owners near Sicheong Station Intersection who are struggling due to the traffic accident can regain stability.”
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