A notice on the exterior of a restaurant in Seoul, Monday, reads that the store, which has up to 300 seats, is accepting reservations for year-end parties. Yonhap

More than four out of 10 small restaurants and hotels complained of direct and indirect losses suffered in the aftermath of the political turmoil caused by President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration on Dec. 3.

According to the Korea Federation of SMEs' (KBIZ) survey of 248 restaurants and 257 hotels between last Tuesday and Thursday, 46.9 percent of respondents answered that they have faced abrupt cancellation of year-end parties and other types of losses since Dec. 3.

Among the respondents who answered that they had yet to suffer any losses from the martial law fiasco, 46.6 percent feared potential setbacks to their businesses.

The federation especially cited an owner of a restaurant in Sejong, who mentioned the cancellation of three reservations after Dec. 3 as proof of weakening consumer sentiment in the administrative city, which accommodates many government buildings.

“Considering the lingering economic uncertainty, the government should create a year-end party atmosphere,” KBIZ Chairman Kim Ki-mun told Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on Monday.

A store owner waits for customers at a traditional market in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, Dec. 10. President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the market on Dec. 2 to encourage small business owners after announcing policies to support them. Yonhap

A separate survey done last week by the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) also showed that 88.4 percent of small business owners suffered sales declines after Dec. 3.

According to the survey of 1,630 small business owners engaged in restaurant, hotel, wholesale, retail and other service industries, 89.2 percent of respondents answered that the number of visitors to their stores had dropped after the martial law declaration.

“While making efforts to solve the political uncertainty, policymakers need to take drastic measures for small business owners, such as more income tax deductions,” a KFME official said.

In response to growing concerns, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups vowed to make all-out efforts to minimize the impact of political unrest on small business owners and the self-employed.

“Our regional offices should communicate with the associations of small business owners in each region to deal with their complaints,” SMEs and Startups Minister Oh Young-ju told executives on Monday.

The central government and municipalities, as well as National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, have also urged citizens to resume their year-end parties, as most ministries and many companies canceled their year-end events amid the political turmoil.

“Please proceed with prescheduled gatherings and events to support struggling small business owners,” the finance minister said.