About 3,000 small business owners gathered in front of the National Assembly to demand guarantees for their survival rights. They called on the government and the legislature to establish a "Presidential Small Business Committee" and implement a "minimum income guarantee system" for small business owners.
The Small Business Association, along with the National Merchants Association, the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises, and the Korea Restaurant Association, held a rally titled "Protecting Survival Rights and Urging a Major Shift in Employment Policy" on June 9 in Yeouido.
Song Chi-young, chairman of the Small Business Association, emphasized the need for a presidential committee, stating, "The 7.9 million small business owners have been reduced to recipients of charity rather than being seen as key players in economic policy. The president must listen to the voices of small business owners."
He also highlighted the importance of introducing a minimum income guarantee for small business owners, saying, "If workers have a minimum wage, then small business owners protecting local markets should also have a guaranteed minimum income." He urged for a restructuring of the social safety net, the establishment of a small business welfare law, and the immediate creation of an employment stability fund.
Additionally, he called for the provision of 23 trillion won so that 2.3 million small business owners can access 10 million won each.
According to a report by the Korea Labor Institute titled "Self-Employment and Self-Employment Policy," two-thirds of self-employed individuals earned less than 1.6 million won per month as of 2023, falling below the minimum wage. The number of business closures in 2024 is projected to exceed 100,828, according to the Small Business Association.
Song expressed frustration over the 6.2% wage increase agreed upon by labor and management at Samsung Electronics last month, stating, "While large corporate unions demand astronomical bonuses through strikes, small business owners are left in tears. The value of labor for small business owners, who cannot even afford to pay part-time wages and work tirelessly without holidays, is completely disregarded."
On June 4, he criticized the minimum wage proposal calculated by the labor sector for special employment workers, which amounted to 4.74 million won per month for delivery workers, and called for the immediate abolition of the outdated weekly holiday pay system established 73 years ago.
He also criticized the National Assembly's ongoing "Basic Law for Workers" initiative, stating that applying labor standards to special employment workers and freelancers would incur an additional annual cost of 5.05 million won per worker, arguing, "If the government wants to provide that money, it should do so directly, as small business owners have no capacity to pay it."
Song further criticized the plan to allow early morning deliveries by large supermarkets, stating that if the legislation passes, they would initiate a nationwide protest along with a constitutional complaint.
Before concluding the rally, Song participated in a head-shaving ceremony.
He remarked, "The cries of small business owners who have set aside their livelihoods to come to the capital represent a legitimate voice of the public. If the government and the National Assembly ignore the demands of small business owners and push through their issues unilaterally, we will mobilize for a nationwide uprising of small business owners."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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