KEF Urges Companies to Help Revitalize Domestic Demand
Encourages Advance Purchases and Domestic Travel to Support Small Business Owners
The Korea Employers Federation (KEF) announced on the 11th that it has requested its member companies to actively participate in revitalizing domestic demand in order to help restore the livelihoods of ordinary citizens.
Amid a surge in small business closures due to domestic and external challenges such as economic recession and sluggish domestic demand, vacant stores line a commercial area in Sinchon, Seoul, on December 26 last year. Photo by Jo Yongjun
KEF introduced the "active use of annual leave" as a way to invigorate the sluggish domestic market. The organization analyzed that encouraging vacations through domestic travel can increase sales for small business owners and self-employed individuals, and also help revitalize local commercial districts.
KEF also stated that purchasing necessary items such as office supplies or equipment in advance, or making advance payments at nearby restaurants, can support micro and small business owners struggling with declining sales. When providing employee benefits such as gifts, giving priority to domestic agricultural, livestock, and marine products, as well as local specialties, is another suggested approach.
Additionally, KEF called on individual companies to make efforts to support micro and small business owners suffering from sluggish domestic demand through various voluntary initiatives.
KEF expressed concern that, due to prolonged sluggish domestic demand in recent years, the number of businesses that closed last year exceeded one million, and that retail sales (constant index) for the first half of this year (cumulative from January to May) decreased by 0.2% compared to the same period last year, raising fears that the difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners will intensify.
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