Emergency Management Stabilization and Business Recovery Funds Totaling 30 Billion Won Provided to Fishermen Affected by COVID-19

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[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 17th that it will provide a total of 30 billion KRW in operating funds to fishermen affected by the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). This is part of the comprehensive support measures for the fisheries sector in response to COVID-19 announced on the 9th.

Recently, due to the spread of COVID-19, consumer sentiment has weakened, leading to a decrease in seafood consumption, especially for cultured live seafood. In addition, fishermen are facing increased difficulties due to the sharp drop in seafood prices and the backlog of shipments.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will first provide 20 billion KRW in emergency management stabilization funds to ease the financial burden on fishermen affected by COVID-19. This is in addition to the 1.24 billion KRW provided on February 17 to nearshore coastal net fishermen who were struggling due to the shortage of Chinese crew members, with an additional 18.76 billion KRW being provided now.

The target for this emergency management stabilization fund support is aquaculture households that suffered damage from COVID-19, such as those whose sales in February decreased by more than 15% compared to January. Specifically, this includes land-based fish farms (including inland water farms), sea cage fish farms, and abalone farms.

Loans of up to 10 million KRW per household are available, and to reduce the interest burden on affected fishermen, the interest rate will be lowered by 0.5 percentage points. Eligible fishermen can choose between a fixed interest rate of 1.3% (reduced from 1.8%) or a variable interest rate. The loan period is one year.

To apply for the loan, applicants must visit a branch of the Suhyup Bank by June 17 and submit the relevant supporting documents.

In addition, the Ministry plans to provide 10 billion KRW in fisheries business rehabilitation funds through the review of individual fisheries cooperatives. Specifically, this supports converting existing loans of fishermen temporarily facing management crises due to the sharp drop in seafood prices into rehabilitation funds with an annual interest rate of 1%, with a grace period of 3 years and a repayment period of 7 years.

Um Ki-du, Director of Fisheries Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "We hope this operating fund support will help fishermen struggling due to COVID-19 even a little," and added, "The government will faithfully implement the comprehensive support measures for the fisheries sector in response to COVID-19 announced in March and will mobilize all policy means to support the fisheries industry."

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