Super Low-Interest Bank Loans for COVID-19 Relief to Launch Next Month

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance (center), Eun Sung-soo, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission (right), and Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, are briefing on the results of the emergency economic meeting at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 19th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] Small business owners who have suffered direct and indirect damage due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) will be able to receive ultra-low interest loans at 1.5% from banks.

On the 19th, the Financial Services Commission announced detailed measures to strengthen financial support for small business owners and self-employed individuals related to COVID-19.

The Financial Services Commission and commercial banks plan to provide bank interest subsidy loans worth 3.5 trillion won for small business owners affected by COVID-19 starting early next month after practical consultations.

The interest subsidy is provided by offering 80% financial support for the banks' monthly support performance. The remaining 20% is borne by the banks. This program is scheduled to operate until the end of this year, and the loan limit is 30 million won. It includes secured loans, guaranteed loans, and unsecured loans.

The scale of 1.5% interest loans provided based on special guarantees from the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, and regional credit guarantee foundations will increase by 4.6 trillion won from the existing 1.2 trillion won to 5.8 trillion won.

The Financial Services Commission also decided to increase the supply scale of the corporate bond issuance support program (P-CBO) for key industries and related small and medium-sized enterprises facing management difficulties by an additional 500 billion won from the existing 1.2 trillion won.

For small and medium-sized enterprises located in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, which have been particularly severely affected by COVID-19, 300 billion won in special guarantees will be supplied. Additionally, 400 billion won in special guarantees will be provided for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners at risk of COVID-19 damage.

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