Kim Sam-ho, Mayor of Gwangsan District, Gwangju, Shares Best Practices of '1% Hope Loan'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kim Samho, Mayor of Gwangsan District, Gwangju Metropolitan City, shared the 1% Hope Loan as an excellent model of local administrative innovation at the nationwide community innovation officers meeting hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, laying the foundation for its nationwide expansion.

According to Gwangsan District on the 30th, the meeting held on the 28th, presided over by the Minister of the Interior and Safety and attended by city and provincial chief secretaries, was organized to share and spread definite achievements and changes in local administrative innovation.

Mayor Kim of Gwangsan District presented the “1% Hope Loan, an unsecured grassroots financial product for small business owners” as an excellent policy of community innovation.

At the meeting, Mayor Kim said, “To expand the 1% Hope Loan to other regions, I propose a pilot public contest project led by the central government,” adding, “It is necessary to hold a contest for participating local governments to receive national funding and to prepare support measures to encourage the participation of mutual finance institutions.”

The 1% Hope Loan is an economic vaccine prescription proposed last year by the “Gwangsan Economic Vaccine Meeting,” which involved 44 public, private, industrial, academic, and media institutions and organizations in Gwangsan District.

With active cooperation from five mutual finance institutions in the Gwangsan area and voluntary funding from citizens, an unsecured, non-guaranteed loan product with 1% interest was launched targeting low-credit and low-income small business owners.

The district promoted the 1% Hope Loan three times last year and is currently implementing the fourth round this year.

Through this, unsecured crisis relief funds amounting to 4.7 billion KRW were provided to about 650 people (up to 10 million KRW per person).

It has been recognized as a support pillar for small business owners whose sales declined and credit ratings dropped due to COVID-19, preventing them from accessing bank loans.

The government, National Assembly, and nationwide city, county, and district councils have focused on the 1% Hope Loan and raised the necessity for its nationwide expansion for this very reason.

Mayor Kim emphasized, “The 1% Hope Loan for small business owners is a spark of hope created through solidarity and cooperation,” and added, “I hope that Gwangsan District’s exemplary case, where local residents united to overcome the crisis and realize hope, will spread nationwide.”

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