Busan City Provides Record Early Policy Funds of 2.0115 Trillion Won

Relieving Financial Difficulties of SMEs and Small Business Owners Ahead of the Lunar New Year Holiday

Busan City is set to release a record-breaking 2.0115 trillion KRW in policy funds ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday to alleviate financial difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners.

Starting January 15, Busan City announced it will provide a total of 2.0115 trillion KRW in policy funds, including 561.5 billion KRW for SME policy funds, 300 billion KRW for SME special guarantees, and 1.15 trillion KRW for small business management funds.

First, a total of 561.5 billion KRW will be supported as SME policy funds, comprising 500 billion KRW for working (management) capital, 60 billion KRW for development and facility funds, and 1.5 billion KRW for startup special funds.

Working (management) capital loans will be supported with interest rates up to 2%, with a loan limit of 800 million KRW per company. Development funds have a loan limit of 1.5 billion KRW per company at an interest rate of 3.7%, facility funds also have a 1.5 billion KRW limit at 3.1%, and startup special funds have a 100 million KRW limit at 2.7% interest.

Applications can be made at 14 commercial banks upon receiving a recommendation letter from the Busan Economic Promotion Agency.

Additionally, for 991 SMEs with working capital loans maturing between January and June 2024, the loan maturity will be extended by six months, and during the extension period, additional interest subsidies ranging from 1% to 2.5% will be provided.

To support SME special guarantees, 300 billion KRW in special funds will be allocated, with 100 billion KRW each for shipbuilding and marine equipment, automobile parts, and companies affected by quasi-disasters and disasters.

For small business management funds, a total of 1.15 trillion KRW will be provided, including 650 billion KRW for small business management stabilization funds, 200 billion KRW for the 3-No (無) Plus special funds, 100 billion KRW for Busan Moduron Plus, and 200 billion KRW for the New Hope Conversion Fund.

The small business management stabilization fund offers loan interest support up to 1.7% with a maximum loan limit of 150 million KRW per business. This year, to ease the burden on small business owners amid sustained high interest rates, the support scale has been expanded from 600 billion KRW to 650 billion KRW. Of this, 15 billion KRW will be operated as emergency funds for the Lunar New Year, providing an interest subsidy of 2% with a loan limit of 100 million KRW per business.

Furthermore, to alleviate the financial burden on local small business owners who faced difficulties last year due to high exchange rates, high prices, and high interest rates (the "3 highs"), a separate product called the New Hope Conversion Fund has been launched. This fund offers enhanced refinancing options including grace periods, interest subsidies, and guarantee fees.

The application process involves the Busan Credit Guarantee Foundation issuing guarantee certificates, with loans to be sequentially processed starting from NongHyup Bank.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun stated, “In a situation where the business environment for local companies has become more challenging due to ongoing economic crises such as high interest rates, I hope this support fund will help alleviate the financial difficulties of SMEs and small business owners ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. As 2024 is an important year to simultaneously achieve regional economic recovery and secure economic innovation momentum, our city will spare no effort to support policy creation and change together with SMEs and small business owners.”

For detailed information on fund support, inquiries regarding SME policy funds should be directed to the Busan Economic Promotion Agency, while inquiries about small business management funds and SME special guarantees should be made to the Busan Credit Guarantee Foundation.

Busan City Hall.

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