Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises Welcomes Supplementary Budget... Expects Livelihood Recovery with Nationwide Consumer Coupons

"Welcoming Measures Such as the Purchase of Long-Term Delinquent Bonds"

The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises welcomed the government's decision on the supplementary budget bill, stating, "This supplementary budget provides a significant breakthrough for micro business owners who are experiencing an unprecedented crisis."

On June 19, the federation released a statement saying, "The nationwide livelihood recovery consumer coupon support policy is expected to become a special measure that will serve as the main driving force for domestic demand recovery. We hope that this supplementary budget will reignite a virtuous cycle of overcoming the crisis for micro business owners and restoring livelihoods."

The federation added, "We also hope that each local government will expand the budget for local gift certificates and organize various consumption promotion events in connection with local micro business owners, so that the livelihood recovery support funds can be widely utilized. In this process, we hope that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's guideline, which limits the use of local gift certificates to businesses with annual sales of 3 billion won or less, will be observed to maximize the intended effect of revitalizing the micro business economy."

The federation also expressed its support for the special debt adjustment package for micro business owners. It stated, "We understand that policies such as the purchase and write-off of long-term delinquent bonds totaling 16 trillion won, the expansion of the New Start Fund, the implementation of the Sincere Recovery Program, and debt adjustment by banks reflect the recommendations made by the federation as part of the 21st presidential election policy agenda, and we welcome these measures."

The federation continued, "The number of micro business owners expected to benefit from the write-off of long-term delinquent bonds, the expansion of the New Start Fund not only for the COVID-19 period but also for current crisis-affected borrowers, and the extension of installment payment periods is estimated to reach up to 1.43 million." It added, "We expect that these measures will significantly alleviate the debt burden weighing on micro business owners and create a turning point for them to make a genuine new start."