Jinju City to Provide 45 Billion KRW in Small Business Development Funds This Year

120 Billion KRW Scale in First Half, Consultation Reservations Open from March 15
Loans Up to 50 Million KRW, 2.5% Interest for 2 Years & 1 Year Credit Guarantee Fee Support

Jinju City Hall Exterior View

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Jinju City, Gyeongnam Province plans to operate 45 billion KRW in 2021 Jinju Small Business Development Funds to support small business owners struggling due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The first half allocation is 12 billion KRW, and consultation reservations will begin on March 15 at 9 a.m. via the Gyeongnam Credit Guarantee Foundation website.

Last year, the city supported interest and credit guarantee fees for 45 billion KRW, and this year, due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and continued consumption slump, it decided to operate the fund at the same scale.

The support targets small business owners with business locations in the jurisdiction: manufacturing, construction, transportation, and mining businesses with fewer than 10 employees; wholesale, retail, food service, and service industries with fewer than 5 regular employees. Depending on credit rating, loans up to 50 million KRW can be received, and interest at an annual rate of 2.5% will be supported for two years on the loan amount.

Additionally, the credit guarantee issuance fee of about 1% per year, which must be paid when obtaining a guarantee certificate from the Gyeongnam Credit Guarantee Foundation, will be supported for one year.

Small business owners wishing to apply for Jinju City Small Business Development Fund loans can make consultation reservations on the Gyeongnam Credit Guarantee Foundation website, obtain a credit guarantee certificate, and apply at one of the nine local financial institutions partnered with Jinju City (NH Nonghyup Bank, BNK Gyeongnam Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, Woori Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, KEB Hana Bank, local agricultural and livestock cooperatives, and Saemaeul Geumgo).

A city official stated, “We hope that the Jinju City Small Business Development Fund support will help stabilize management and relieve financial burdens for small business owners. Our city has proactively implemented four rounds of economic support measures, including Jinju-type jobs, living stabilization funds for businesses subject to gathering bans or restrictions, to revitalize the local economy. We will continue to do our best to prepare practical measures that can help small business owners, such as management environment improvement projects and operating a civil complaint call center.”

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