On July 3, Lee Hyung-il, Deputy Minister of Finance, convened a meeting of a task force at the Government Seoul Building to assess the impacts of Homeplus's rehabilitation process termination. The meeting included representatives from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Financial Services Commission, and the Financial Supervisory Service.
To stabilize workers' livelihoods, the government will provide wage compensation of up to 21 million won per affected worker. Additionally, workers who lost their jobs due to store closures or wage delays will receive 60% of their average salary from the past three months prior to their termination.
Support measures for loans have also been established. A low-interest living expense loan of 1.5% will be available for up to 10 million won per person, covering wage arrears. Low-income workers will be eligible for living stability loans of up to 20 million won at the same interest rate.
For those seeking reemployment, customized comprehensive employment support services, including job skills enhancement programs, will be provided. Low-income job seekers can receive job-seeking allowances ranging from 600,000 to 1 million won per month. Furthermore, those participating in vocational training through the Ministry of Employment and Labor will also have access to living expense loans for training.
The government plans to provide a total of 440 billion won in emergency liquidity support to small partner companies that relied heavily on Homeplus. This includes 350 billion won in special guarantees from the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, along with 90 billion won in emergency management stabilization funds from the Small Enterprise and Market Service and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency.
For small businesses, the support limit will be increased from 70 million won to 100 million won, with interest rates reduced by 0.5 percentage points. Additional extensions will be pursued for companies that have received repayment deferrals and maturity extensions from banks.
Businesses wishing to close can apply for one-stop closure support, including store demolition costs and legal advice, through the Hope Return Package. They can also receive assistance for employment or re-establishment.
The government plans to hold regular task force meetings to monitor the damage to workers and partner companies and to review support outcomes weekly.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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