The Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups has recently begun damage recovery efforts for traditional markets nationwide that are suffering from heavy rain.
According to the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups on the 22nd, as of the morning of that day, about 412 stores in eight traditional markets nationwide experienced substantial damage due to record-breaking rainfall that started on the 16th. Regionally, three markets in South Chungcheong, two in Gwangju, one in Daegu, one in Gyeonggi, and one in South Gyeongsang reported incidents like store flooding. There were no casualties.
The ministry deployed staff from local small and medium venture business agencies, the Small Enterprise & Market Service, and local governments to provide support for waste disposal, site cleanup, and other recovery operations at the severely flooded Dangjin traditional market (around 170 stores) and Samga Market (70 stores).
To restore the flood-damaged traditional markets, emergency support measures have been established in cooperation with local governments and relevant organizations. Support will be provided for safety inspections and the recovery of electrical and gas facilities, and requests for emergency inspections will be made to the Korea Electric Power Corporation, the Korea Gas Safety Corporation (KGS), and the Korea Fire Insurance Association to prevent safety accidents from flooding.
For electrical and gas facilities that need repairs or replacements, the plan is to streamline procedures and allocate project funds to local governments within 10 days.
A one-stop support center has also been established for prompt assistance. The Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups is currently operating a one-stop support center for merchants in the heavily affected Dangjin traditional market and Samga Market in Hapcheon. At this center, composed of staff from local small and medium enterprise agencies, the Small Enterprise & Market Service regional center, and regional credit guarantee foundations, the damage status is being assessed, and assistance is provided for merchants needing to obtain disaster verification certificates for financial support applications.
Government policy funds will also be supported. SEMAS provides loans of up to 100 million won at an interest rate of 2% to small business owners who have suffered disaster damage. Small business owners can apply after obtaining disaster verification certificates from local governments.
For traditional market merchants who receive disaster verification certificates, the existing loan maturity from SEMAS will be extended by one year. Regional credit guarantee foundations will also support disaster recovery guarantee loans of up to 300 million won for small business owners who have obtained disaster verification certificates or proof of damage from local governments. The guarantee ratio will be increased from the standard 85% to 100%, with a preferential guarantee fee of 0.5% (fixed).
Merchants who have joined the Yellow Umbrella Insurance and obtained disaster verification certificates can receive disaster loans of up to 20 million won interest-free.
Choi Won-young, head of the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups' Small Business Policy Office, said, "We plan to concentrate all our policy capabilities to minimize merchants' damage and achieve early normalization in collaboration with relevant authorities and local governments."