Gwangju Bank Donates 100 Million Won in Emergency Relief Funds for Vulnerable Groups to Jeonnam Province

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Bank (President Song Jong-wook) announced on the 19th that it has donated 100 million KRW in emergency relief funds to Jeonnam Province to support vulnerable groups amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The donation ceremony was attended by Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, Song Jong-wook, President of Gwangju Bank, and Park Heung-seok, Chairman of the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of the Korean Red Cross.

Although various support measures such as the five-day mask distribution system and financial assistance have been implemented to minimize the damage caused by COVID-19, vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled have been excluded from the five-day mask system and are enduring difficult days due to prolonged care gaps and challenging livelihoods.

In response, Gwangju Bank, following the delivery of 30,000 masks to the Jeonnam Provincial Office on the 28th of last month to protect the health of local residents, has now donated 100 million KRW in emergency relief funds to support vulnerable groups affected by COVID-19.

The donated funds will be distributed to vulnerable local groups struggling to maintain their livelihoods due to COVID-19 through Jeonnam Province and the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of the Korean Red Cross.

Previously, Gwangju Bank also donated 100 million KRW in emergency relief funds to Gwangju Metropolitan City and plans to extend donations to the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions in the future.

Song Jong-wook, President of Gwangju Bank, said, "As the difficulties of vulnerable groups are intensifying due to the spread of COVID-19, I hope that the donated funds will be meaningfully used to protect the health of our local vulnerable groups." He added, "As the representative bank of Jeonnam and Gwangju, we will do our best to protect our customers, local residents, and employees from COVID-19, and cooperate with related organizations to devise various support measures including financial assistance."

Meanwhile, Gwangju Bank has consecutively delivered 30,000 masks each to Jeonnam Province and Gwangju Metropolitan City, and 10 million KRW each in sponsorship funds to Mokpo, Suncheon, Yeosu, and Naju cities to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and promote the health of local residents. Additionally, through Daegu Bank, it delivered 10,000 masks to Daegu Metropolitan City, sharing the difficulties of Daegu citizens through the Moonlight Alliance.

Furthermore, to support financial recovery from COVID-19 damage, Gwangju Bank has contributed 1 billion KRW each to the Gwangju Credit Guarantee Foundation and Jeonnam Credit Guarantee Foundation, and 500 million KRW to the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, practicing win-win management with local small business owners facing operational difficulties.

Gwangju Bank is also implementing its own special fund support, providing a total of 100 billion KRW in special support with a limit of 500 million KRW per company for local small and medium-sized enterprises and individual business owners engaged in travel, lodging, and food service industries.

Special interest rate benefits of up to 1.3 percentage points are applied, and for affected customers holding loans maturing during this period, a 1 percentage point reduction in loan interest rates is applied without separate principal repayment, allowing for extension of terms and deferral of installment payments.

In addition to cooperation with the Credit Guarantee Foundations, Gwangju Bank’s own special fund support is provided through the bank’s 145 branches via the ‘COVID-19 Damage Enterprise Dedicated Window.’ Particularly, Gwangju Bank directly handles guarantee consultations, document submissions, on-site visits, and guarantee agreements usually processed by the Credit Guarantee Foundations, enabling rapid financial support for COVID-19 affected enterprises.

Moreover, to support small business owners whose sales have sharply declined due to the spread of COVID-19, Gwangju Bank has joined the ‘Good Landlord Movement,’ reducing rent by 30% for six months starting from March for tenants within Gwangju Bank premises, sharing the difficulties of local residents together.

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