“It feels good to receive 1 million won for the quarantine subsidy immediately after applying. Still, it would be better for us to resume normal business after the corona virus is over.”
Kim Seon-ho (36), who runs a cafe in Gosa-dong, Jeonju, accessed the website of the quarantine support fund for small businesses at 9 a.m. on the 27th.
Kim has suffered damage from COVID-19 quarantine measures for the past two years, but he applied for a quarantine subsidy and was paid 1 million won on the same day.
From this day on, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) started to pay quarantine subsidies to small business owners, such as self-employed people who, like Mr.
With 1 million won per business, restaurants and cafes are the primary targets, and about 700,000 places across the country, including Jeonbuk, will receive the subsidy without supporting documents.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups applied the ‘odd-even system’ for two days considering that the website would be down due to a large number of applicants, but there was no major confusion on the first day of payment.
A total of 3.2 trillion won in quarantine subsidies will be paid to a total of 3.2 million businesses, including 900,000 businesses with limited business hours and 2.3 million other businesses with reduced sales.
According to Jeollabuk-do, it is estimated that there are a total of 46,000 quarantine subsidies in the province, with a subsidy of 46 billion won.
The government explained that this quarantine subsidy is separate from the compensation for losses in the fourth quarter of 2021 to be paid in February next year.
However, small business owners in the province responded coldly, saying that the amount of 1 million won was not enough to make up for the damage due to repeated distancing for nearly two years, saying that they were peeing on frozen feet.
This is because, considering the high season for the year-end and New Year holidays, there are restrictions such as business hours due to social distancing, which means that business is practically forced to close.
The travel and lodging industries, which had been excluded from the loss compensation industry, were included in the payment of quarantine subsidies, but unlike other industries such as restaurants and cafes, they were excluded from immediate payment, raising the issue of equity.
Travel and lodging businesses are not subject to restrictions on business hours, so they can receive subsidies only when sales decline is confirmed in preparation for the spread of COVID-19.
An official from a travel agency in the province was dissatisfied, saying, “The sales have already been 0 won for two years due to the corona virus, but it is questionable whether there is a separate procedure to check the decrease in sales.”
Other self-employed people are also appealing, “We are suffering from double jeopardy due to the spread of Corona 19 and the domestic economic recession, so please increase our business hours.”
On the other hand, it is reported that self-employed people who oppose the tightening of COVID-19 quarantine guidelines are conducting a light-off protest in which they turn off their lights from 5 pm to 9 pm for two days from the 27th to the 28th and are considering suspending business.
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