"Financial Environment That Provides Practical Support to SMEs and Small Business Owners Must Be Created"

Minister of SMEs and Startups, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, and Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service Gathered in One Place
Listening to On-Site Voices of SMEs and Small Business Owners on Graceful Maturity Extension Measures

Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is delivering a greeting at the 'Financial Issues Meeting between SMEs and Small Business Owners' held on the 5th at the Foundation for Cooperation between Large, Small Enterprises and Agriculture and Fisheries in Jung-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Minister of SMEs and Startups, the Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, and the Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service gathered in one place to listen to the financial difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young) announced on the 5th that it held a 'Financial Issues Related SMEs and Small Business Owners Industry Meeting' together with the Financial Services Commission (Chairman Kim Ju-hyun) and the Financial Supervisory Service (Governor Lee Bok-hyun) at the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies conference room.

The meeting was organized to listen as much as possible to the voices from the field of SMEs and small business owners regarding the smooth transition measures for the maturity extension and repayment deferral policy implemented since April 2020, and the New Start Fund scheduled to be implemented from October, and to reflect these in policies. The government has been operating a 'Consultative Body for the Smooth Transition of Maturity Extension and Repayment Deferral' involving all financial sectors centered on the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and to reflect the voices of SMEs and small business owners, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and its affiliated policy financial institutions such as the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation have also participated.

On the 29th of last month, as one of the smooth transition measures for maturity extension, the operation plan for the New Start Fund, the first debt adjustment program exclusively for small business owners, was announced. Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups explained the purpose and significance of the meeting, stating, "As difficulties caused by high interest rates, high exchange rates, and high prices are expected to continue for some time, we will carefully review the vivid voices from the field so that a financial environment that provides practical help to SMEs and small business owners can be created, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Financial Services Commission, and the Financial Supervisory Service will closely cooperate to ensure that SMEs and small business owners do not face financial difficulties."

Kim Ju-hyun, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said, "We have prepared customized financial support measures such as refinancing high-interest debt with low-interest loans, tailored policy fund support, and the New Start Fund to resolve the financial difficulties of SMEs and self-employed individuals, and we plan to newly prepare financial support measures for SMEs as well. We will closely examine the difficulties of SMEs and self-employed individuals and prepare additional financial support measures if necessary."

Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, stated, "Until the difficulties caused by COVID-19 are recovered, we will actively support and induce financial companies to listen to the voices of small business owners and SMEs and provide the best support and services."

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