The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced today (the 29th) that it held an on-site roundtable to inspect the current status of recovery and rebound support for financially troubled small business owners and to listen to opinions from the field.

The meeting, held at the Northern Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters of the Small Enterprise and Market Service in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, was attended by about 20 people. Participants included officials from related organizations such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Gyeonggi Regional Small and Medium Venture Business Administration, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service, regional credit guarantee foundations, and the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency, alongside consultants, job training institutions, small business associations, and small business owners who have received government support.

During the meeting, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups presented the implementation results of the Measures for the Recovery and Rebound Support of Small Business Owners.

The Ministry explained that since March of this year, it has been proactively monitoring signs of management crisis based on data from approximately 3 million small business owners currently using loans, and providing customized guidance on government support programs when signs of distress are detected.

In the meeting, small business owners who have successfully rebounded or are receiving government support, along with on-site experts, shared their experiences participating in policies and discussed difficulties they faced.

Participants requested expanded customized business re-establishment support for middle-aged and older small business owners, and suggested the need for enhanced publicity so that alert messages regarding management crisis signs are not mistaken for spam.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to reflect the opinions raised at the meeting in its policies while sequentially holding mobile comprehensive consultation sessions for small business owners across 15 metropolitan local governments from mid-August to October.

The consultation sessions will provide one-on-one tailored counseling and support for matters necessary for the recovery and rebound of small business owners, including financial support, management diagnosis, business closure procedures, debt adjustment, and employment and re-establishment support.

Lee Byeong-gwon, Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, "We will closely examine blind spots and field difficulties arising during the support process—ranging from business liquidation, consulting, and specialized education to credit recovery and support for second-chance challenges—and continuously supplement and strengthen a customized support system tailored to the situations and recovery stages of small business owners."

(Photo: Provided by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Yonhap News)