SMEs ministry to launch on-site counseling for struggling small merchants

The SMEs ministry said Thursday it will hold a series of on-site consultation meetings across 15 metropolitan local governments from mid-August to October to support small merchants facing business failure.

During a field meeting held Wednesday in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, officials reviewed current renaissance support programs and listened to difficulties faced by business owners dealing with prolonged high interest rates and weak domestic demand. Lee Byeong-gwon, the ministry's second vice minister, emphasized that the success of support policies depends not on their design but on how easily struggling merchants can access them and feel their tangible effects.

Lee pledged to continuously refine the customized support framework to match each merchant's situation.

The ministry has been monitoring early signs of management crises since March using data from approximately 3 million small merchants currently utilizing loans. When risk indicators are detected, the government connects affected owners with tailored support measures including business closure assistance, debt adjustment services, and small-scale financing.

The upcoming mobile consultation teams, operated jointly with the Small Enterprise and Market Service, will offer one-on-one counseling covering financial aid, management diagnostics, closure procedures, debt restructuring, and employment or restart training.

Participants at the Wednesday gathering, including consultants and representatives from credit recovery committees, suggested that proactive notifications via text messages could be more effective if accompanied by stronger public relations to prevent such alerts from being mistaken for spam. The ministry pledged to incorporate such field feedback into its policy execution.