President Yoon Suk-yeol Attends Small Business Conference for Second Consecutive Year: “Backbone of Our Economy”
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Young-shin = President Yoon Suk-yeol proclaimed on the 31st that “small businesses are the foundation of people’s livelihoods and the regional economy, serving as the backbone of our economy.”
During his attendance at the ‘2024 Korea Small Business Conference’ held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, President Yoon stated, “The strength of the Korean economy comes directly from small businesses,” as reported by the presidential office.
President Yoon emphasized the allocation of a record budget dedicated to small businesses for the upcoming year, amounting to 5.9 trillion won, to ensure that the warmth of economic recovery can be felt as soon as possible.
He promised further efforts to alleviate financial burdens for small business owners by collaborating with banks to supply 14 trillion won of new guaranteed loans next year, which is 2 trillion won more than this year. Additionally, the scale of conversion-guaranteed loans will be doubled to 10 trillion won.
The government has also decided to extend additional support for electricity bills for small business owners next year.
Regarding this, President Yoon explained, “In addition to the 200,000 won already supported for electricity bills for 900,000 small business owners, we will provide an additional 50,000 won. Furthermore, we plan to offer 200 billion won worth of new delivery fee support for 680,000 people next year.”
Moreover, he announced that Onnuri gift certificates, which can be used in traditional markets and small business stores, are expected to achieve record sales of 4.2 trillion won this year, with plans to expand sales further next year.
President Yoon assured that “the president and all government ministries will work as a team to strongly support small business owners.”
The presidential office noted that President Yoon, having been the first sitting president to attend the small business conference last year, showcased his special affection and interest in small businesses by attending again this year.
On the same day, President Yoon personally conferred orders and citations to six individuals, including Seo Yong-pil of Dupang Pastry (Silver Tower of Industrial Service Merit) and Kim Dae-rae of Elm Coffee (Iron Tower of Industrial Service Merit), for their contributions to the growth and development of small businesses.
The event was attended by around 4,000 small business owners, including Song Chi-young, the president of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise.
Government representatives included Oh Young-joo, the Minister of SMEs and Startups, while the National Assembly was represented by Kim Sang-hoon, the policy committee chair of the People Power Party, and Lee Chul-kyu, chair of the Industry, Trade, and Energy Small and Medium Venture Business Committee. From the presidential office, Seong Tae-yoon, the policy director, and Park Chun-seop, the economic chief, participated.