Seoul City Supports Small Business Owners... Incentive Payments for Noryanwoosanggongje Subscribers

Up to 240,000 KRW in Hope Incentives for New Noranwoosang Gongje Subscribers
Flexible Loans and Income Deduction Benefits for Small Business Owners

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will provide a total of 240,000 KRW in hope incentives over one year to new subscribers of the 'Noranwoosang Gongje,' known as the retirement fund for self-employed workers. This is to support the livelihood of small business owners who are unable to operate due to closures and other reasons.

According to Seoul City on the 2nd, the city will pay 20,000 KRW per month for one year, totaling 240,000 KRW in hope incentives to small business owners in Seoul with annual sales of 300 million KRW or less who newly subscribe to the 'Noranwoosang Gongje.'

Amid domestic and international adverse factors such as economic recession and sluggish domestic demand, the number of store closures among small business owners is rapidly increasing, and on the 26th, vacant stores lined up in a commercial area in Sinchon, Seoul. Accordingly, the amount of closure mutual aid funds for small business owners exceeded 1.3 trillion won this year, marking an all-time high. Photo by Jo Yongjun

The Noranwoosang Gongje hope incentive support project started in 2016, and the cumulative number of subscribers, which was only 178,493 at the end of 2015, increased to 656,058 by the end of 2024.

Small business owners who join the Gongje can freely pay from 50,000 KRW to 1,000,000 KRW per month in increments of 10,000 KRW. The accumulated contributions earn compound interest annually and are paid in a lump sum upon occurrence of payment reasons, making it a useful lump sum during income gaps such as business closure or retirement. The interest rate is 3.3% (quarterly variable) as of the first quarter of 2025, and subscribers can receive an income deduction benefit of up to 6 million KRW annually on their contributions. Seizure, transfer, or collateral provision of the Gongje funds is prohibited.

Additionally, within the scope of the Gongje contributions, loans and interim settlements can be flexibly used to resolve urgent business instability caused by disasters, illnesses, bankruptcy, and other reasons.

Seoul City also refunds 20% of the insurance premiums paid over five years to new subscribers of employment insurance for the self-employed. Combined with government support, the insurance premium burden is reduced by at least 70% and up to 100%. Separately from Seoul City’s support, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups provides premium refunds of 80% for grade 1-2 standard wages, 60% for grade 3-4, and 50% for grade 5-7 starting in 2024.

Song Ho-jae, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Civil Livelihood and Labor Bureau, said, "Support for employment insurance premiums and Noranwoosang Gongje subscriptions is like future insurance that helps small business owners overcome difficulties by preparing for an uncertain future. We will support more small business owners to trust the social safety net and boldly take off."