Gwanak-gu Provides Up to 20 Million KRW Interest-Free Loans for Small Business Owners

Interest-Free Loan Support for Small Business Owners up to 20 Million KRW, 1 Year Interest-Free... Total Scale of 20 Billion KRW ... Support for 1,200 Businesses in Closure-Restricted Sectors, 500,000 KRW Damage Compensation

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Jun-hee) is implementing various projects to support small business owners who are struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, through the first supplementary budget, the district secured a total of 2 billion KRW in project funds for ‘interest-free loan support’ for small business owners and ‘closure support for businesses subject to gathering bans and restrictions.’

The ‘Interest-Free Loan Support Project for Small Business Owners’ is a program that provides emergency management stabilization funds to promote the business stability of small business owners facing difficulties due to weakened consumer sentiment and domestic demand contraction caused by COVID-19. The total scale is 20 billion KRW.

To facilitate smooth loan processing and provide guarantees for small business owners lacking collateral, the district plans to collaborate with Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank, contributing 900 million KRW from Gwanak-gu, 500 million KRW from Woori Bank, and 200 million KRW from Shinhan Bank, totaling 1.6 billion KRW to the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation to establish guarantee funds.

The loan conditions include a limit of 20 million KRW, a 1-year grace period, and a 4-year repayment period with no interest for one year. The loan interest rate is a variable rate (1 year) plus an additional rate within 1.7%.

Eligible applicants are small business owners who have their business premises in Gwanak-gu and have been registered for more than six months. Businesses restricted from policy fund loans and those unable to obtain credit guarantees from the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation are excluded.

The application period starts from the 28th until funds are exhausted. To apply, applicants must bring identification, a copy of their business registration certificate, and other required documents, and visit the designated bank reception desks during bank working hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.

The reception desks are located at Woori Bank (Gwanak-gu Office Branch, Sadang Station Financial Center, Nakseongdae Station Branch, Bongcheon Central Branch, Seoul National University Station Branch) and Shinhan Bank (Gwanak Branch, Gwanak Sinsa-dong Branch, Nakseongdae Station Branch, Seoul National University Station Branch, Seoul National University Branch). For contact details and more information by branch, please refer to the announcement on the district’s official website.

The ‘Gwanak-gu Closure Support Project for Small Business Owners in Gathering Ban and Restricted Industries’ targets small business owners who have closed their businesses and were previously excluded from various support benefits. It provides employment and re-startup preparation funds to small business owners who decided to close due to business difficulties caused by COVID-19.

The target businesses are those in gathering ban or restricted industries that closed after March 22 of last year, when social distancing measures were strengthened due to the full-scale spread of COVID-19. The main business location on the closed business registration certificate must be in Gwanak-gu, the business must have operated for more than 90 days before closure, and the business must have completed closure and sales reporting to the National Tax Service. A damage support fund of 500,000 KRW will be provided.

The application period is from May 3 to 31. Applicants must bring identification, a certificate of business closure, a small business confirmation certificate (or sales and regular employee verification documents if unavailable), a copy of their bankbook, and other required documents. Applications can be submitted in person, by email, fax, or mail to the relevant department by industry. For detailed information, please refer to the announcement on the district’s official website.

Additionally, the district issued 18 billion KRW worth of the zero-pay based mobile local currency ‘Gwanak Sarang Gift Certificate’ at a 10% discount rate, which sold out completely, and is preparing to issue an additional 21 billion KRW to revitalize the local economy through consumption stimulation.

Furthermore, the 4 billion KRW scale Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund loans are continuously accepting applications with a significantly reduced ultra-low interest rate of 0.8%.

District Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing quarantine measures, and worsening consumer conditions have deepened the management difficulties of small business owners. We will continuously strive to overcome the crisis by preparing multifaceted livelihood measures such as interest-free loan support and damage support payments for affected businesses.”

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