[2024 Budget] Early Restoration of 'Wonjeon Ecosystem' Planned... Facility Investment and Working Capital Support for SMEs

Starting next year, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies in the nuclear power sector will be able to borrow funds for facility investment and working capital at low interest rates. This initiative aims to support nuclear power SMEs and mid-sized companies that have faced difficulties due to past nuclear phase-out policies, disrupted work orders, and sustained high interest rates, thereby achieving an early restoration of the 'nuclear power ecosystem.'

According to the 2024 budget plan announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 29th, the budget for revitalizing nuclear power will increase by 130.4 billion KRW to 662.2 billion KRW compared to this year’s 531.8 billion KRW.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained, "We are strengthening budget support in the nuclear power sector to achieve the early completion of nuclear power ecosystem restoration. Through this, we plan to enhance energy security and establish a robust energy system."

To restore the nuclear power ecosystem early, a new nuclear ecosystem financial support project worth 100 billion KRW will be launched to provide low-interest loans to SMEs and mid-sized companies. Additionally, a new support program will cover advance payment guarantee insurance fees required for nuclear SMEs and mid-sized companies when applying for advance payments upon signing equipment supply contracts. Furthermore, the education support budget for workforce capacity building and reemployment promotion will increase from 8.9 billion KRW this year to 11.2 billion KRW next year.

To promote nuclear power exports, the budget for supporting order acquisition activities will be expanded by 9.3% to 8.5 billion KRW compared to this year. A new budget of 25 billion KRW has also been allocated to support nuclear export guarantee insurance tailored for nuclear export SMEs and mid-sized companies facing difficulties in obtaining existing export guarantees due to weak financial conditions.

In addition, to prepare for supply instability of critical resources, 200 billion KRW will be allocated to expand public stockpiles of key minerals and petroleum, and 230 billion KRW will be increased for investment and loans in domestic oil fields and overseas resources.

Investment in new energy industry infrastructure such as hydrogen and wind power will also be expanded. Plans include establishing four small-scale hydrogen production bases and one hydrogen fuel cell power generation cluster. The research and development (R&D) budget for core renewable energy technologies will increase from 273.7 billion KRW this year to 318.7 billion KRW next year. Support will be provided to build carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) demonstration centers at three sites, including thermal power plants and chemical industrial complexes, to reduce carbon emissions.

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