Donghae City Small Business Card Fee Support: How to Apply for 0.5% of 2025 Card Sales, Up to KRW 200,000
The 2026 Donghae City Small Business Card Fee Support Program provides eligible small businesses with annual sales of KRW 300,000,000 or less with 0.5% of their 2025 card sales, up to KRW 200,000 per business. Applications are accepted in person at Donghae City Hall from 2026-11-09 through 13. Meeting the annual sales requirement does not result in automatic payment, so check the eligibility requirements and required documents.
2026 Donghae City Card Fee Support Program at a Glance
| Category | 2026 Announcement Details |
|---|---|
| Eligible applicants | Small businesses with annual sales of KRW 300,000,000 or less |
| Business location and status | Located in Donghae City and operating as of the announcement date |
| Calculation basis | 2025 card sales |
| Support rate | 0.5% of card sales |
| Maximum support | KRW 200,000 per business |
| Application period | November 9~November 13 |
| Application deadline | November 13 at 18 |
| Application method | In person |
| Application location | Small Conference Room, 4 floor, main building of Donghae City Hall |
| Inquiries | 033-530-2292 |
These details are from Donghae City Announcement No. 2026-1313, published on 2026-10-26. They can be checked in the official notices and announcements from Donghae City and the business program announcement on the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ Bizinfo portal.
How much does the actual support amount vary with card sales?
The support amount is not calculated as 0.5% of annual sales of KRW 300,000,000. Instead, 0.5% is applied to the 2025 card sales that can be verified, and if the result exceeds KRW 200,000, support is capped at KRW 200,000.
The calculation is as follows.
Support amount = min(2025 card sales × 0.005, KRW 200,000). The following are examples calculated by the author using the support rate and maximum amount.
| 2025 card sales | Calculated amount | Estimated support amount |
|---|---|---|
| KRW 5,000,000 | KRW 25,000 | KRW 25,000 |
| KRW 10,000,000 | KRW 50,000 | KRW 50,000 |
| KRW 20,000,000 | KRW 100,000 | KRW 100,000 |
| KRW 30,000,000 | KRW 150,000 | KRW 150,000 |
| KRW 40,000,000 | KRW 200,000 | KRW 200,000 |
| KRW 50,000,000 | KRW 250,000 | KRW 200,000 |
The amounts above are hypothetical calculations based on the formula in the announcement. The actual payment amount will be determined based on the card sales verified by the relevant administrative agency and the eligibility review.
The figure to remember here is KRW 40,000,000.
If 2025 card sales are KRW 40,000,000, the 0.5% calculation comes to KRW 200,000, reaching the maximum support amount. Even if card sales exceed KRW 40,000,000, support is capped at KRW 200,000.
Conversely, even if a business’s annual sales are close to KRW 300,000,000, its support amount will be lower if its card sales are low.
Eligibility Requirements to Check Even If Annual Sales Are KRW 300,000,000 or Less
Meeting only the Donghae City business location and sales requirements does not guarantee support for every applicant. Applicants must also meet the small business criteria and exclusion conditions specified in the announcement.
In general, check the following requirements.
Annual sales in 2025 of KRW 300,000,000 or less
Businesses operating at a location in Donghae City as of the announcement date
Businesses that qualify as small businesses under the relevant laws and regulations
Businesses that have not already received, and are not currently receiving, card fee support for the same or a similar program
The number of regular employees must also be checked.
| Industry | Regular employee limit |
|---|---|
| Mining, manufacturing, construction, and transportation | Fewer than 10 employees |
| All other industries | Fewer than 5 employees |
The following businesses are excluded from support.
1. Businesses that have already received card fee support for the same program or a similar purpose
2. Businesses that moved their business location to another city, county, or district as of the announcement date
3. Industries excluded from small business policy fund loans
4. Businesses temporarily closed or shut down as of the announcement date
Check the industry-by-industry list attached to the announcement for excluded industries. Because exceptions may apply depending on the industry, do not determine eligibility based only on the industry name.
Where should you go to apply starting November 9?
Applications for this program must be submitted in person at Donghae City Hall; online applications are not accepted.
Applications open: Monday, 2026-11-09
Applications close: Friday, 2026-11-13, at 6 p.m.
Application location: Small Conference Room, 4 floor, main building of Donghae City Hall
Lunch break: Applications are not accepted from 12 to 13
Inquiries: Economic Policy Team, Economic Affairs Division, Donghae City Hall, 033-530-2292
The announcement specifically states that applications may close early if the budget is exhausted. Rather than waiting until the November 13 deadline, it is safer to prepare your application and check early in the application period.
There is another change that is easy to overlook.
For the 2025 program, applications were accepted at the community administrative welfare center serving the business location. The 2026 announcement instead directs applicants to the small conference room on the 4 floor of Donghae City Hall’s main building. If you remember last year’s application location, take care not to confuse it with this year’s.
What documents should you prepare before visiting?
Prepare the application form and sales documents separately. In particular, note that the supporting documents for general sales and card sales are different.
Required documents for all applicants
Support program application form
Copy of business registration certificate
Copy of bankbook for receiving the support payment
Local tax payment certificate
Consent form for the collection, use, and provision of personal information
Documents verifying 2025 sales
Documents verifying 2025 card sales
Types of sales documentation
| Business type | Sales documentation |
|---|---|
| General and simplified VAT taxpayers | Certificate of VAT tax base |
| VAT-exempt businesses | Certificate of income for VAT-exempt businesses |
For card sales documentation, you can obtain 2025 card sales records through the Credit Finance Association’s merchant sales transaction information lookup service.
Sales records from a POS (point-of-sale) system and other materials that objectively verify 2025 card sales are also accepted as supporting documents under the announcement.
Businesses with joint representatives must submit a consent form for the joint representatives’ application. If an agent applies, a power of attorney and documents verifying the agent’s identity must also be submitted.
Three Things to Pay Special Attention to Before Applying
First, only one business location may apply per representative, 1. Even if you operate multiple business locations, you cannot submit a separate application for each one.
Second, for businesses with joint representatives, the representatives must consult with one another and have an authorized representative apply.
Third, if any submitted documents need corrections or additions, respond to the request within the specified period. The announcement states that applicants may be excluded from support if they do not respond to a request for additional documents.
Before submitting the application and supporting documents, check that the card sales records cover all of 2025 and that the business registration details match the business location information.
Donghae City Card Fee Support for 2026: What to Check Now
The most important thing about this support program is to distinguish the eligibility threshold of annual sales of KRW 300,000,000 from the 2025 card sales figure used to calculate the support amount.
Under the calculation method, businesses with card sales of at least KRW 40,000,000 may receive up to KRW 200,000, but they must pass the sales documentation and small business eligibility reviews.
Businesses preparing to apply should first obtain their 2025 sales certificate and card sales records, then submit their applications starting November 9 at the small conference room on the 4 floor of Donghae City Hall’s main building.
If you are unsure about the detailed eligibility requirements or whether your industry is excluded, contact the Economic Policy Team at Donghae City Hall’s Economic Affairs Division (033-530-2292) before visiting.