"You can't even pay for insurance"...a small business owner on Jeju Island who is on the brink of a cliff

[Anchor]
As the economic downturn drags on, the economy in Jeju is also in a sour state.

Small business owners are appealing for careful policy support, saying it has become so difficult that they can't even pay insurance premiums.

I'm reporter Kim Jiwoo of KCTV Jeju Broadcasting.

[Reporter]
Last month, the economic index felt by small business owners in the province remained at the lowest level in the country at 65.5.

A reading of less than 100 means more small business owners feel the economy has deteriorated, and it has been well below the benchmark this year, going back and forth between 40 and 60.

Due to this situation, the self-employed business closure rate in the province exceeded 10% last year.

At an on-site meeting of small business owners organized by Jeju Island, participants said that the sense of regional economic crisis is growing more than ever.

In particular, they said that they are not adequately responding to the rapidly changing business environment such as technological changes and external bad news, and that they need careful policy support.

[Kang Dong-woo / Vice President of Jeju Small Business Association: The business environment and trends keep changing. In fact, there are many cases where they close their businesses, and there are cases where they close their businesses because they can't keep up with the trend.

In addition, he complained that it is difficult to pay workers' four major insurance premiums as labor costs rise while sluggish domestic demand is prolonged.

[Park Sung-cheol / Vice President of Jeju Small Business Association: Suncheon City and Busan City provide 100% of employment insurance premiums. I hope Jeju Island will actively consider supporting employment insurance premiums among the four major insurances..]

In addition, small business owners called for simplifying the complex subsidy application process, easing the crackdown on parking and stopping, and supporting the hiring of disabled people at workplaces with fewer than five employees.

In this regard, Governor Oh Young-hoon said, "We take the local economic situation seriously and will closely examine the requirements."

[Younghoon Oh / Jeju Governor: I think it's up to public officials including Jeju Provincial Government to support you to stand up on your own in order for the Jeju community to be maintained]

Jeju Island explained that it plans to set up a budget for economic vitality next year at 140 billion won, a 10% increase from the previous year, and focus on overcoming the crisis for small business owners, boosting domestic demand, and jobs.

I'm Kim Jiwoo from KCTV News.