Jungjingong Supports SMEs Affected by FTA... "Low-Interest Loans"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Small and Medium Business Corporation announced on the 11th that it will operate the 'Trade Adjustment Assistance Program' in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The support targets companies in manufacturing or service industries with more than two years of business experience, whose sales have decreased by more than 10% over a 6-month or 1-year period compared to the same period of the previous year due to increased imports from Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partner countries.

Trade adjustment assistance companies confirmed to have suffered damage from increased domestic inflow of imported items from FTA partner countries will receive low-interest loans, consulting, and mentoring for three years from the designation date. Policy funds are offered at a fixed interest rate of 2.0% per annum, with loan periods up to 10 years for facility funds and up to 6 years for working capital. The loan limit is up to 6 billion KRW per company annually, with a working capital limit of up to 500 million KRW per year.

This year, 15 billion KRW will be provided to small and medium ventures. Additionally, consulting will be offered in management and technical fields necessary for implementing trade adjustment plans, with up to 80% of the costs supported, capped at 120 million KRW.

Notably, this year, export-dedicated mentoring has been newly introduced alongside the existing general management and technical mentoring. This supports domestic companies in overcoming trade damage and strengthening export competitiveness. Export-dedicated mentoring assists in export strategy formulation, buyer discovery, and overseas market development.

Yoon Yong-il, Head of the Re-Acceleration Growth Division at the Small and Medium Business Corporation, stated, "We plan to provide linked support through various systems so that trade adjustment assistance companies can grow in the mid to long term. We will actively support domestic companies affected by FTA agreements to strengthen their competitiveness and enter a growth trajectory."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.