The government has begun receiving applications for recovery payouts for small business owners who suffered damage from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said it began to receive the applications from 8 a.m. Tuesday. 

Applications will be received on an odd-even basis, starting with businesses that have a company registration that ends with an odd number allowed to apply on Tuesday and even on Wednesday. Applications will be accepted from 8 a.m. to midnight. Any business can apply all day on Thursday.

Eligible businesses are those that adhered to operation bans and restrictions between August 16 last year and July 6 this year, or are facing a management crisis after suffering big losses in sales last year. The government estimates that there are around one-point-78 million such businesses.

Those forced to shut down for six weeks or longer can receive up to 20 million won, while those that shut down for less than that can get up to 14 million won.