The government will identify and execute 330.6 billion KRW worth of livelihood projects on January 2, the first day of the new year, to support the recovery of people’s livelihoods and the economy. Amid recent challenging domestic and international conditions, it plans to push for the largest-ever fiscal spending from the very first day of the fiscal year to aid economic recovery.
Amid domestic and international adverse factors such as economic recession and sluggish domestic demand, the number of small business closures is rapidly increasing. On the 26th of last month, vacant stores lined a commercial area in Sinchon, Seoul. Accordingly, the amount of small business closure mutual aid payments exceeded 1.3 trillion won this year, marking an all-time high. Photo by Jo Yongjun
The first spending projects of the new year include 11 initiatives such as the ‘Onnuri Gift Certificate’ program (50 billion KRW), which is directly linked to the sales of small business owners. Specifically, rapid execution will be carried out for projects supporting youth and the elderly, such as temporary youth monthly rent support (20 billion KRW) and elderly job social activity support (15.5 billion KRW), as well as projects aimed at supporting vulnerable groups and stimulating consumption, including support for the guarantee fee of jeonse deposit return guarantees (5 billion KRW).
The elderly job project schedule has been shortened from the end of January to early January. The timing of expenditures, such as the issuance of export vouchers (24.7 billion KRW), will also be moved up to the first day of the new year. The agricultural and livestock product discount support project (30 billion KRW) will shorten its execution period by more than one month compared to previous years to reduce consumer burden on shopping baskets before the Lunar New Year holiday.
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