Yoon pledges support for small business owners with debt burden

President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged on Thursday to implement various policy support measures aimed at assisting small business owners and vulnerable groups struggling with loan repayments due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yoon made the remarks during a government-public debate, the 10th in a series of sessions addressing people's livelihood issues, with business owners in Seoul. "During the COVID-19 period, small business owners and self-employed individuals suffered from restricted business hours and social distancing measures, and are still faced with a significant challenge due to increased debt burden, coupled with high interest rates," Yoon said. The government will collaborate with financial authorities to refund the interest, averaging 1 million won (US$753) per person, Yoon said. The measure is expected to benefit around 2.28 million small business owners, with the total refunded amount reaching 2.4 trillion won. "(The government) will support small business owners and self-employed individu als who have taken out high-interest loans to switch to low-interest loans through consultation services," Yoon said. Yoon also mentioned that the tax burden for small business owners will be alleviated by raising the threshold for levied taxes from the current annual revenue of 80 million won to 104 million won. Source: Yonhap News Agency