Suwon Provides On-Site Consulting for Alley Commercial Districts Seeking Official Designation

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Suwon Special City announced on the 14th that it will provide on-site consulting to alley commercial districts seeking designation as official alley commercial shopping districts.

Upon designation as an alley commercial shopping district, merchants will gain eligibility for central government and Gyeonggi Province competitive project support equivalent to traditional markets, benefits including registration as Onnuri gift card affiliated stores and local currency affiliated stores, and raised sales criteria for local currency merchant registration (annual sales from 1 billion won to 3 billion won).

The consulting will be conducted jointly by Suwon City, the Small Enterprise and Market Service Center Suwon Branch, and an alley commercial shopping district support organization selected by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The city will provide one-stop support covering site briefings related to alley commercial shopping district designation, merchant organization formation, application document preparation, and commercial district marketing following designation.

Currently, consulting is being implemented targeting the Hwaseo 1-dong Merchants Association and Maetan District 4 Merchants Association, with plans to expand consulting to additional alley commercial districts seeking designation.

Meanwhile, the city declared a "Local Commercial District Protection City" vision in May and is pursuing five key initiatives centered on three major strategies: growth, expansion, and support. "Fostering alley commercial shopping districts" corresponds to the 'growth' strategy for revitalizing alley commercial districts and securing self-sufficiency.

A city official stated, "Through ordinance amendments, we relaxed the designation requirements for alley commercial shopping districts and officially designated four alley commercial shopping districts in Suwon in April for the first time," adding, "We will continue discovering target sites to revitalize alley commercial districts."