Blocking Revolving-Door Startups and Strengthening Business Capabilities
Approximately 24,000 Small Business Owners Expected to Benefit
From Startup and Business Stabilization to Crisis Overcoming
The Seoul Metropolitan Government is launching comprehensive support for small business owners at every stage, from startup to business stabilization. With a support budget of 25 billion KRW, approximately 24,000 small business owners are expected to benefit.
On the 23rd, Seoul announced that it will officially operate the '2025 Seoul Small Business Comprehensive Support' program, which provides customized programs tailored to the life cycle of small business owners.
Amid domestic and international adversities such as economic recession and sluggish domestic demand, the number of small business closures is rapidly increasing, and on the 26th, vacant stores lined up in 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
This year's support areas include ▲(Startup) small business education and startup consulting ▲(Business Stabilization) self-employed clinic, digital transformation support for middle-aged small business owners ▲(Crisis Overcoming) early detection and proactive support for small businesses in crisis ▲(Rechallenge) closure support, career change and reemployment.
First, to prepare for well-founded startups amid increasingly fierce competition, specialized startup education segmented by industry and type will be provided to 10,000 people, an increase of 2,000 from last year.
Customized support to help stabilize the management and increase the actual sales of small business owners and self-employed individuals will also be strengthened. The 'End-to-End Consulting' support, newly established last year and highly rated by small business owners, will be expanded from 20 to 37 sectors to help improve their actual sales.
The 'Digital Transformation Support Project,' which has received positive responses from middle-aged small business owners, will continue. Digital practice and consulting will be provided to 250 middle-aged small business owners, and costs up to 3 million KRW required based on consulting results for facilities and equipment will be supported.
Support measures for 'crisis overcoming' of small business owners have also been prepared. Using the 'Management Crisis Alarm Model' designed based on financial big data of customers using the Credit Guarantee Foundation's guarantees, signals such as sales decline and loan surges are detected to identify and proactively support small business owners in crisis. This has been increased more than twofold from last year (1,300 to 3,000 people).
Additionally, the system supporting new paths for small business owners who have experienced failure or have a strong will to restart, preventing revolving-door startups, will be expanded. The 'New Path Closure Support' and 'Restart Project' have significantly increased the target from 3,500 last year to 4,600 this year. This includes consulting on business closure procedures such as administrative processes and tax filing (twice), and from this year, support for actual expenses such as rent and store restoration costs, 'storage fees' needed until disposal of closure items, and 'repair and cleaning costs' required for resale.
Song Ho-jae, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Livelihood and Labor Bureau, said, "Many small business owners are struggling amid chronic economic recession and political instability. Seoul will continue to support small business owners, the backbone of Seoul's economy, to overcome crises and regain vitality, thereby leading the revitalization of Seoul's economy."
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