Eun Sung-soo "Discussing Additional Extension of Loan Repayment Deadlines for SMEs and Small Business Owners"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Eun Sung-soo, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, announced that he is discussing an additional extension of the principal repayment maturity for loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners with the five major financial holding companies and the secondary financial sector. Earlier, in February, the banking sector extended the principal repayment maturity for loans to SMEs and small business owners until the end of September and also deferred interest payments, following the government's financial support policy for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

On the afternoon of the 23rd, during a parliamentary question session at the National Assembly, in response to a question from Yoon Hu-deok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking, "The repayment extension for small business loans due to COVID-19 was extended until September; is there a plan to extend it further?" Chairman Eun replied, "It is not something I decide alone, as there is the other party involved. What is being roughly discussed is to proceed with the extension."

Chairman Eun stated, "Initially, we hoped that COVID-19 would be over by the end of September, but as you know, the COVID-19 situation is not over, and companies and small business owners are still facing difficulties. Therefore, this morning, I discussed countermeasures with the chairpersons of the five major financial holding companies," adding, "Since we are well aware of the situation, we are working cooperatively to ensure that the public does not suffer damages." He also added, "We have discussed with the secondary financial sector as well to proceed with the extension."

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