Yongin City Supports Returning Farmers with 'Agricultural Startup Funds and Housing Purchase Costs'... Up to 300 Million KRW, 2% Annual Interest

[Asia Economy (Yongin) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province will support returning farmers with agricultural start-up funds of 300 million KRW and housing purchase costs of 75 million KRW.

Yongin City announced on the 23rd that it will recruit applicants by the 11th of next month to provide low-interest loans at an annual rate of 2%, including agricultural start-up funds and housing purchase costs, to help returning farmers settle stably.

The city will first lend agricultural start-up funds for purposes such as establishing a farming base, constructing or purchasing (repairing) food manufacturing and processing facilities. The loan limit is up to 300 million KRW per household.

Housing purchase costs can also be supported for purchasing or constructing houses, or for extension and renovation of old farmhouses owned by the borrower. Loans of up to 75 million KRW per household are available.

Loans will be processed through NongHyup Bank. Borrowers can choose between a fixed interest rate or a variable interest rate at 2% per annum. The repayment condition is a 5-year grace period followed by 10 years of equal principal payments, with interest paid only during the grace period.

Eligible applicants are household heads aged 65 or younger who have moved to rural areas of Yongin City from non-rural areas regardless of city or province, and have been residing there for less than 5 years.

However, residents registered in rural areas within the city for more than one year who have no farming experience within the last 5 years (non-farming residents living in rural areas) can only receive agricultural start-up fund loans.

The city will hold a selection committee in July to evaluate business plans, farming settlement motivation, and loan repayment plans to rank applicants. Based on this, Gyeonggi Province will decide the support amount by city/county and the final recipients.

Detailed information can be found in the announcement section on the city’s website.

A city official stated, "We will continue to prepare various support projects to expand the agricultural base of Yongin, a city combining urban and rural areas."

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