Vice Finance Minister meets small business owners, pledges additional Chuseok price relief this week

Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyung-il met with small business owners and self-employed workers Monday to hear their concerns and review prices of key Chuseok seasonal goods. The government plans to announce additional supplementary measures this week to stabilize Chuseok living costs, including expanded discounts on agricultural and livestock products and increased seafood supply.

Lee held a meeting at the Seoul Small Business Digital Education Center with heads of small business associations across the retail, service and manufacturing sectors, including the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business and the Korea Restaurant Industry Association.

The meeting was organized to assess business conditions facing small business owners and the self-employed, and to gather firsthand accounts of difficulties and policy recommendations.

"Supporting the management stability and growth of small businesses is essential to easing economic polarization," Lee said. "We will make every policy effort to ensure the benefits of growth reach all small business owners."

After the meeting, Lee visited Kkachisan Market in Seoul to check supply conditions for Chuseok seasonal goods and review implementation of the Chuseok living stabilization measures announced Sept. 1.

The government plans to supply 183,000 tons of seasonal goods ahead of this year's Chuseok holiday — 1.6 times the normal supply volume and the largest amount on record. It will also commit a record 103 billion won ($76 million) to discount support for agricultural, livestock and fishery products.

From Sept. 16 to Sept. 20, buyers at 300 traditional markets each for agricultural and livestock products and for seafood will receive a refund of about 30 percent of their purchase amount in Onuri gift vouchers, capped at 20,000 won per transaction.

Lee toured key stalls in the market to check prices of vegetables and fruits being supplied at more than three times the normal volume. He also reviewed prices of six popular fish species — including mackerel and pollock — being sold at up to 40 percent below market rates using 20,000 tons of government stockpiles.

"We will do our utmost to ease the burden on household grocery budgets through expanded supply and discount support for Chuseok seasonal goods," Lee said. "This week, we will finalize and announce additional supplementary Chuseok living stabilization measures, including expanded discounts on agricultural and livestock products and increased seafood supply."