Yangsan City, Full Effort to Stabilize Small Business Management Including Emergency Fund Support

Urgent Management Stabilization Fund and Introduction of Lump-Sum Maturity Repayment, Special Measures Implemented

Yangsan City in Gyeongnam is implementing a special policy for fostering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including the provision of emergency management stabilization funds, to support local SMEs facing double hardships due to prolonged economic recession, high interest rates, and high exchange rates combined with a slowdown in domestic consumption.

The SME fostering fund is an interest subsidy project that supports part of the interest on loans through banks that have signed business agreements with Yangsan City for local SMEs lacking funds necessary for business operations. It operates on an annual scale of 80 billion KRW, including 60 billion KRW for management stabilization funds, 15 billion KRW for facility and equipment funds, and 5 billion KRW for technology startup company funds.

The emergency management stabilization fund, part of the newly promoted special policy, provides an additional loan limit of 100 million KRW separately from the existing limit to SMEs experiencing temporary management difficulties such as exchange rate damage and export sluggishness caused by the global economic crisis, and offers an additional 0.5% interest support on this amount.

As a result, the loan per company increases from the existing maximum of 400 million KRW to a maximum of 500 million KRW, and the interest subsidy also rises from 2.0% (3.0% for preferred companies) to 2.5% (3.5% for preferred companies), which is expected to provide practical help to SMEs undergoing crises caused by political turmoil such as the impeachment situation.

In addition, starting next year, the city will introduce a lump-sum repayment method with a 3-year maturity for loan funds to reduce the burden of principal repayment for companies experiencing financial difficulties. It also plans to significantly ease the financial burden on companies by promoting a joint support guarantee project for SMEs that reduces guarantee fees by up to 1.2% in connection with IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, guarantee institutions, and others.

The emergency management stabilization fund support targets SMEs with headquarters and business sites located in Yangsan that can prove temporary management difficulties. Regardless of whether they have previously received management stabilization funds, they can separately apply for up to 100 million KRW.

Companies wishing to receive funds can visit the Yangsan City Hall Corporate Support Division or any of the 10 contracted banks (Gyeongnam Bank, Kookmin Bank, NongHyup Bank, Daegu Bank, Busan Bank, Korea Development Bank, Shinhan Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, Woori Bank, Hana Bank) from January 2025 until funds are exhausted to check support conditions and apply.

A Yangsan City official said, “We hope that the special policy for fostering SMEs being promoted this time will provide practical help to local SMEs enduring difficult times,” and added, “We will continue to seek active support measures for the stability of the regional economy and the survival of companies.”

Yangsan City Hall.

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