The government on Thursday unveiled a set of measures to support self-employed people. 

In a report issued Thursday, the government said it plans to help lighten the financial load by  introducing a special debt relief program for self-employed persons who faithfully repay debts even after losing the ability to repay. 

The government has proposed to increase the debt reduction rate of self-employed people from 29 percent last year to more than 40 percent by 2022. 

The government will also issue small enterprise gift certificates worth 18 trillion won by 2022 as part of efforts to increase sales of single-person businesses. It will also seek a project to revitalize old downtown areas across the nation and transform them into new commercial hubs. 

In addition, it will actively promote the use of a smartphone-based payment service called "Zero Pay" to relieve small business owners of the burden of credit card transaction costs.