Gyeonggi-do Provides Up to 15 Million KRW Low-Interest Support for Debt Adjustment Diligent Repayers

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will provide low-interest loans of up to 15 million KRW to borrowers who repay their debts faithfully.

On the 13th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it will accept applications year-round for the 'Gyeonggi-do Rechallenge Loan,' which offers low-interest loans of up to 15 million KRW, including emergency living expenses, to borrowers who have repaid their debts faithfully, in collaboration with the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service and the Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation.

The Gyeonggi-do Rechallenge Loan is a project carried out by the province, the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service, and the Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation since 2017. With the expiration of the existing business agreement, the Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation has joined as a partner institution instead of the Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation, and the project is proceeding into its second phase starting this year.

The Rechallenge Loan project provides unsecured, low-interest small loans to residents of Gyeonggi Province who have undergone debt adjustment through the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service or have been approved for personal rehabilitation by the court and have faithfully made repayments.

The purpose is to break the vicious cycle where borrowers who are faithfully following their debt adjustment repayment plans become delinquent again due to emergency medical expenses, living expenses, business operating funds, or refinancing high-interest loans.

Eligible applicants are Gyeonggi Province residents who have received debt adjustment support from the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service and have faithfully followed their repayment plans for more than six months, or those who have been approved for personal rehabilitation by the court and have faithfully followed their repayment plans for more than 18 months.

The types of support include ▲living stabilization funds ▲high-interest refinancing funds ▲operating funds ▲facility improvement funds ▲student loans, totaling five categories.

Loans are provided up to a maximum of 15 million KRW, except for student loans, which are capped at 10 million KRW. The applied interest rate is a fixed 2.5% per annum, excluding the province's 1% secondary interest subsidy.

Repayments are made in equal installments of principal and interest over five years without a grace period. Considering the purpose of 'academic advancement,' the interest rate for student loans is set lower at 1% per annum.

Applicants wishing to receive support from the Rechallenge Loan program can confirm eligibility through the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service Consultation Center (1600-5500) and prepare the necessary documents as guided by the branch examiner.

Last year, through the Rechallenge Loan program, the province supported 8174 people with a total of 21.23 billion KRW, including 20.67 billion KRW for living stabilization funds (8075 people), 490 million KRW for high-interest refinancing funds (79 people), and 70 million KRW for student loans, operating, and facility improvement funds (20 people).

This year, the loan support scale is expected to be around 19 billion KRW.

A provincial official stated, "This year, we plan to provide economic self-sufficiency support such as financial counseling through the Gyeonggi Province Financial Welfare Support Center to help residents in need of financial welfare achieve practical recovery," and emphasized, "We will do our best to support the actual economic recovery of financially vulnerable groups whose economic difficulties have been exacerbated by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic."

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