President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to mobilize all policy means to support the nation's small business owners and to help the self-employed get back on their feet.

At the year's tenth public debate session on small businesses and public livelihoods on Thursday, Yoon said the financial burdens from operation restrictions and social distancing during the pandemic have been exacerbated by inflation and high interests.

The president promised that two-point-28 million owners of small businesses and self-employed workers would receive an interest payment refund amounting to an average of one million won, or around 753 U.S. dollars, per person, totaling two-point-four trillion won.

Yoon vowed to provide support for business owners who have taken out high-interest loans, saying they would be assisted in changing to loan plans with low interest rates.

He also announced plans to raise the upper threshold for simplified tax payment eligibility from 80 million won in yearly sales to 140 million won to help ease the businesses' tax burdens.