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A restaurant in Jongno-gu, central Seoul has a notification that says "We accept reservations for year-end meetings" on Monday. (Yonhap) |
Politicians and government officials alike are encouraging South Koreans not to cancel their regular year-end meetings, after the Dec. 3 martial law and subsequent political turmoil brought a fall in the country's restaurant sales.
Reports have indicated that small enterprises in particular have been hit hard in the aftermath of President Yoon Suk Yeol's recent declaration of martial law.
The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise on Sunday released a statement that small business owners are facing "extreme difficulties" due to a series of cancellations since the martial law turmoil. South Koreans across the country have taken to the streets since the martial law was announced and quickly rescinded. Yoon was impeached Saturday and faces a criminal investigation for insurrection.
"With the recent changes in the situation, we urge the people to relax and visit the small stores and shops," the KFME said.
The group's Dec. 10-12 survey on 1,630 of its members showed that 88.4 percent of the respondents saw their sales decrease after the martial law incident. Some 36 percent said they saw their sales dropped by 50 percent or more, with 25.5 percent and 21.7 percent claiming decreases of 30-50 percent and 10-30 percent, respectively.
Another survey by the Korea Federation of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) on 248 restaurant-owners and 257 in the lodging business showed that 47 percent of them were affected by the political situation. The respondents, who participated in the Dec.10-12 survey cited mass cancellations and inquiries about safety from customers.
National Speaker Woo Won-shik himself encouraged the Koreans to go ahead with the year-end meetings that had been cancelled in light of the martial law, saying after the parliamentary vote on Saturday that the small business owners are going through difficulties.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok also sent a message on Sunday for Koreans to conduct their year-end meetings and events as planned, in support of the small business owners.
Some heads of the regional governments also emphasized the importance of aiding small business owners in light of the recent sale slump. Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo told his officials in a Monday meeting to execute the city's budget swiftly, in a way that can help the smaller enterprises and citizens.
South Korean economy in general was stricken hard by the president's ill-fated martial law declaration, most notably in the stocks sliding on coattails of the announcement. On Dec.4, the benchmark KOSPI closed 36.10 points (1.44 percent) down from the previous day at 2,464.00.
The following weeks saw KOSPI go up and down, but the figure has yet to rebound above the 2,500-mark since then.
