Seoul, South Korea – President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea announced a significant small business support package worth KRW 59 trillion (approximately US$41.9 billion) for the fiscal year 2024, marking the largest such allocation in the country’s history.

Since taking office, the government has already provided over KRW 30 trillion (US$21.3 billion) in supplementary budget support, followed by two additional measures in July and October 2023 totaling KRW 36 trillion (US$25.6 billion).

Small businesses and self-employed workers represent 95% of South Korea's enterprises and account for 45% of the country’s total employment, with self-employed individuals making up 20% of the workforce.

The new initiative includes a reduction in commission fees for delivery platforms by at least 30% for small vendors, targeting the current average commission rate of 9.8%. Traditional markets will be fully exempt from these fees.

Mobile payment gateway fees, which currently range from 5% to 14%, will be restructured with shorter settlement periods, with changes expected to take effect by the end of the year.

In response to concerns over online reviews, the government will establish 90 complaint centers across the country to handle malicious reviews impacting small businesses.

A KRW 500 billion (US$355.5 million) regional commerce development fund will be set up by 2027, along with plans to train 1,000 private-sector commercial district planners.

To foster local business growth, the government will create ten regional creative spaces across the nation, modeled after French local production hubs.

The government will also revise the requirements for commercial district designations to ensure fair access to policy benefits for areas experiencing population decline.

To protect consumers and small businesses alike, a new deposit system for reservations will be introduced, alongside improvements to dispute resolution mechanisms to address issues like no-shows.

In a bid to support conscientious business owners, the government will exempt them from fines of up to KRW 3 million (US$2,133) for violations of single-use cup regulations committed by customers without the owner's knowledge.

Additionally, a dispute resolution body will be established to handle conflicts related to online advertising contracts, which often involve substantial sums of money.

US$1 = KRW 1,406.59