"If Debt Repayment Is Difficult, Use Gaein Saeopja Daechul 119"... 5.6 Trillion Won Supported Over 7 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced on the 28th that a total of 37,453 individual business owners (with debts amounting to 5.6 trillion KRW) have received assistance such as maturity extensions through the 'Individual Business Owner Loan 119' program operated by banks from 2013 to last year, to help those struggling with debt repayment due to financial difficulties.

The Individual Business Owner Loan 119 system was introduced in February 2013 by some banks under the name 'Individual Business Owner Pre-Workout.' In 2017, the FSS renamed the system to Individual Business Owner Loan 119 and promoted its activation by selecting excellent banks implementing the system.

Among the debt adjustment supports provided so far, maturity extensions accounted for the largest portion at 4.2096 trillion KRW, representing 70.1%. Interest reductions (22.9%), interest deferrals (4.4%), and refinancing loans (2.6%) followed.

The amount of loans with reduced debt repayment burdens has gradually increased, surpassing 1 trillion KRW annually for the first time last year, indicating that this system is contributing to resolving temporary debt repayment difficulties for individual business owners, according to the FSS.

Loans that were repaid normally after support were about 2.5 times higher than those classified as non-performing loans, which is also evaluated as contributing to improving banks' soundness.

The FSS selected excellent banks implementing the system in the second half of last year. Among large banks, NH Nonghyup Bank ranked first, followed by Hana Bank in second place.

NH Nonghyup Bank recorded the best performance in quantitative core indicators (ranking first in both scale and growth rate) and also ranked first in qualitative evaluation, securing the overall first place.

Hana Bank showed consistently good scores in both quantitative (3rd) and qualitative (2nd) evaluation categories, achieving overall second place.

Among small and medium-sized banks, Busan Bank, ranked first, received high evaluations for external promotion at branches and efforts in post-management through systems.

Gyeongnam Bank, ranked second, earned points for systematic management capabilities such as notifying delinquent borrowers by branch and providing system guidance.

The FSS plans to continue semi-annual evaluations of operational performance and systems and produce various forms of informational materials about the system to distribute to self-employed business associations and others.

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