How to Apply for Small Business Closure Support — Store Demolition Costs, Business Wind-Down Consulting and Job Transition Allowance: Order and Documents

Procedure

1. 1. Check that year's announcement and eligibility

   The law only provides the basis for the closure support program; eligibility, rates, caps and application periods are set by an announcement each year. Compare the original announcement against whether you are a small business owner under the Framework Act on Small Business, whether you have already closed or plan to close, whether your business type is excluded, and whether you have received similar support before.

2. 2. Apply for store demolition costs before signing a demolition contract

   Past announcements have covered stores used under a paid lease as the rule and excluded owner-occupied buildings, stores used free of charge, and demolition carried out by the applicant directly. If demolition is finished first, you may not receive support or may need more evidence, so confirm the application order once you have a quote from a demolition company. Prepare the lease contract, the quote and photos taken before demolition in advance.

3. 3. Apply for wind-down consulting, legal advice and debt adjustment

   Article 4-3 of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act lists the duties of the small business closure support center as consulting for winding down a business, legal and tax counseling related to closure, restart support, job training and job placement. Review the order of disposing of inventory and fixtures, ending the lease and settling remaining debts in the consulting, and apply for the items you need under the same announcement.

4. 4. Business closure report and permit closure report

   The business closure report under Article 8 of the Value-Added Tax Act is filed by the applicant directly through Hometax or the competent tax office. For businesses that filed a business report or obtained a permit, such as restaurants, a closure report is also filed with that authority under Article 37 of the Food Sanitation Act, and it cannot be filed while an administrative sanction procedure such as a business suspension is in progress. Because the support announcement distinguishes owners planning to close from those already closed, set the reporting date after checking the announcement's criteria.

5. 5. Link to re-employment and restart support

   If you prepare for employment after closure, complete the employment training under the announcement and apply for the job transition allowance with proof of job-seeking activity or employment. To start a new business, go through the restart support training and business plan review. If you were insured under self-employed employment insurance, separately check the requirements for job-seeking benefits under Article 69-3 of the Employment Insurance Act.

Required documents

• Closure support program application (no statutory form: an electronic application announced each year, completed on the Sbiz24 and Hope Return Package websites)
• Certificate of business registration or certificate of closure (issued by the applicant through Hometax or the tax office)
• Copy of the store lease contract (when applying for store demolition costs)
• Demolition company quote and contract, photos before and after demolition and other demolition evidence required by the announcement
• Business closure report for permitted businesses (statutory form under the relevant law, with the original business report certificate or permit attached)
• Business plan in the announcement's format (when applying for restart support)
• Letter of authorization (when delegating document submission)

Fees

Industry range of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of won · We will advise after consultation, depending on the number of items applied for (store demolition costs, wind-down consulting, restart business plan) and the number of permitted businesses that need a closure report. Government fees are separate.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Framework Act on Small Business, Article 25
• Act on the Protection of and Support for Micro Enterprises, Article 12
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Protection of and Support for Micro Enterprises, Article 4-3
• Value-Added Tax Act, Article 8
• Food Sanitation Act, Article 37
• Employment Insurance Act, Article 69-3
• Employment Insurance Act, Article 69-7

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-10

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• While an administrative sanction procedure such as a business suspension is in progress, a business closure report cannot be filed under Article 37(8) of the Food Sanitation Act, so first check whether any sanction is in progress.
• Support rates, caps, application periods and excluded business types change with each year's announcement, so prepare based on the original announcement at the time of application.

Frequently asked questions