Park Hong-geun, Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, visited a traditional market to hear the concerns of small business owners and introduce key support projects included in this year's budget ahead of Chuseok.
On September 17, Minister Park visited Cheonan Central Market in South Chungcheong Province, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Small Enterprise and Market Service. He toured major stores in the market and shared details about the key support projects for small business owners included in the 2027 budget.
During the visit, Minister Park purchased fruits and side dishes using the Onnuri gift certificate, listening to the difficulties faced by merchants. They expressed concerns about decreased customer traffic due to the summer heat, the burden of cooling costs, challenges in health check-ups for solo operators, delivery fees, and loan repayment pressures.
After hearing the merchants' opinions, Minister Park explained the key support projects reflected in the 2027 budget aimed at providing practical assistance to small business owners.
To alleviate the debt and delivery fee burdens on small business owners, the government will continue to support special debt adjustments for long-term overdue debts exceeding three years and a new start fund worth 700 billion won. Additionally, it plans to provide 200,000 discount coupons worth 5,000 won each for a shared delivery app.
The safety net for health, childcare, and entrepreneurship will also be expanded. Small business owners undergoing national health screenings will receive support for substitute labor costs of up to 100,000 won per person, targeting 2 million individuals. For those not covered by employment insurance, a monthly childcare allowance of 500,000 won will be provided for three months.
To support young entrepreneurs, the government will subsidize up to 80% of the insurance premiums for 48,000 young entrepreneurs. It will also support up to 80% of industrial accident insurance premiums for 12,000 individuals.
Support for traditional markets will be strengthened. The budget for a safety management package to assist with the installation of safety equipment, such as cooling systems, will be increased from 13.2 billion won to 56.2 billion won. The benefits for traditional market consumption using digital Onnuri gift certificates will be raised from 7% to 10%.
Support for fostering century-old markets will be expanded from a maximum of 3 billion won for two years to 5 billion won for four years per market, while support for cultural tourism markets will increase from a maximum of 1 billion won for two years to 2 billion won for three years per market.
Minister Park stated, "The vivid voices of the merchants you hear in every corner of the market are the clearest reasons why the 2027 budget must reach the field properly. I will ensure that the 2027 budget, prepared with the utmost effort by the government, passes through the National Assembly's review process without delay and is swiftly implemented so that merchants can feel the changes."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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