A road in Okpo-dong, Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, is submerged by floodwaters on Monday afternoon. [Yonhap]
A road in Okpo-dong, Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, is submerged by floodwaters on Monday afternoon. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has launched an emergency support drive to help traditional markets in South Gyeongsang Province recover from record torrential rains. The ministry will fast-track the restoration of electrical and gas facilities at affected markets and provide emergency business stabilization loans of up to 100 million won ($70,700) as well as special guarantees of up to 300 million won.

Vice Minister Lee Byeong-gwon visited Gohyeon Market in Geoje and Seoho Market in Tongyeong on Tuesday to assess flood damage and restoration progress and hear directly from affected merchants.

The heavy rains have so far damaged 17 traditional markets across South Gyeongsang Province — 14 in Geoje and three in Tongyeong — with stores reporting flooding and sediment runoff. No casualties have been reported.

Tongyeong's Seoho Market was particularly hard hit, with more than 150 stores damaged. The ministry has assembled an emergency response team with the South Gyeongsang Regional Office of SMEs and Startups and the Small Enterprise and Market Service to support cleanup and waste removal at affected sites.

The ministry is also moving to accelerate the restoration of electrical and gas infrastructure. It has asked Korea Electric Power Corporation and the Korea Gas Safety Corporation to conduct urgent safety inspections to prevent additional accidents from flood damage, and will apply a fast-track process to facilities requiring repair or replacement.

Under normal procedures, utility support — from application through site and document review and a deliberation committee — takes about two and a half months before project funds are disbursed. For markets affected by this disaster, the ministry will streamline the process and cut that timeline to within 10 days.

Financial support to help merchants resume normal operations will run in parallel. A one-stop support center — bringing together the regional SME office, a Small Enterprise and Market Service local center, a regional credit guarantee foundation and the local municipal government — will operate at Seoho Market in Tongyeong, which sustained the heaviest damage. The center will assess damage on-site and help merchants obtain the disaster certificates needed to apply for financial support.

Small business owners who suffered disaster losses can receive emergency business stabilization loans of up to 100 million won at an annual interest rate of 2 percent, repayable over three years after a two-year grace period. Merchants who already hold loans from the Small Enterprise and Market Service can extend their repayment deadlines by one year.

Regional credit guarantee foundations will offer disaster-affected small business owners special guarantees of up to 300 million won, with a guarantee ratio of 100 percent — higher than the standard 85 percent — and an annual guarantee fee of 0.5 percent. Merchants enrolled in the Yellow Umbrella mutual aid program who obtain a disaster certificate can also access interest-free loans of up to 20 million won.

The ministry said it will use the flood response as an opportunity to strengthen proactive safety management at traditional markets. It plans to introduce a new flood-preparedness inspection system using specialist agencies to identify vulnerable markets in advance, and will link those findings to a market safety management package program to enable a more preemptive response to summer downpours.

"We will work closely with related ministries, local governments and relevant agencies to support swift damage recovery so that merchants can return to their livelihoods as soon as possible," Lee said.


boo@heraldcorp.com