Busan, South Korea — The Busan Metropolitan City government announced a series of enhancements to its Small Business Energy Voucher Support Program, aimed at easing management burdens and improving accessibility for local business owners. The city has broadened the eligible uses for the vouchers and extended both the application and usage deadlines.

Under the updated guidelines, the application deadline has been extended to December 15, and the usage period is now valid through June 30, 2027.

Expanded Usage Options for Diverse Business Needs

Previously limited to electricity bills and vehicle fuel (gasoline, diesel, and LPG), the energy vouchers can now be used for a wider range of essential business expenses:

New Eligible Categories: Water bills, electric vehicle (EV) charging fees, and taxi fares.
Broader Accessibility: By incorporating water bills and taxi fares, small business owners without personal commercial vehicles can now flexibly benefit from the program.
EV Charging Support: Partnering with EV charging operator Nice Charger, the city will enable energy voucher payments for electric vehicle charging starting November 9.

Key Program Schedule

New Application Deadline: December 15 (Extended from November 6)
New Usage Period: Until June 30, 2027 (Extended from December 31, 2026)
Support Amount & Format: Launched on September 28, the program provides 200,000 KRW per person to eligible small business owners in the form of Dongbaekjeon policy support funds.
Eligibility: Small business owners with business locations registered in Busan and annual revenues of 300 million KRW or less.
Park Dong-seok, Director-General of the City’s Citizens' Economic Bureau, urged local merchants, stating, "We strongly encourage any business owners who have not yet applied to do so within the extended period. We hope this expansion and extension will provide practical relief and greater convenience for our local business community."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]