Jinju City Supports 'First Half Small Business Development Fund'

Support of 26 Billion KRW Scheduled for January

Jinju City in Gyeongnam will provide 45 billion KRW worth of the "2025 Jinju City Small Business Promotion Fund" starting from the 15th to reduce the interest burden on small business owners struggling due to the economic downturn and to promote management stability.

Since it is urgent for small business owners whose business conditions are deteriorating due to decreased sales to secure funds, the project will start about a month earlier than in 2024. This year’s support will be implemented in two phases: 26 billion KRW in the first half and 19 billion KRW in the second half.

The loan methods will be conducted in two ways: guaranteed loans through the Gyeongnam Credit Guarantee Foundation and collateral/credit loans by financial institutions themselves. The guaranteed loan scale for 2025 is 30 billion KRW, and the collateral/credit loan scale is 15 billion KRW. To support loans for small business owners lacking collateral, the guaranteed loan scale will be temporarily increased by 6 billion KRW in 2025, following 2024.

Jinju City Hall exterior view.

The support details include an interest rate of 3% per annum for two years on loans up to a maximum of 50 million KRW per business and one year’s worth of credit guarantee fees incurred when taking out loans through the Credit Guarantee Foundation.

The support targets are small business owners with business locations in the jurisdiction. For manufacturing, construction, transportation, and mining industries, businesses with fewer than 10 regular employees qualify, and for wholesale, retail, food service, and other service industries, businesses with fewer than 5 employees qualify, provided they meet the small business owner criteria.

Guaranteed loans through the Gyeongnam Credit Guarantee Foundation can be applied for starting from the 15th by scheduling a consultation appointment either by visiting the foundation or a bank. Applications will close once funds are exhausted. Since early depletion is expected, small business owners in need of support should apply promptly.

Small business owners wishing to apply for collateral/credit loans should consult in advance with the handling financial institution regarding loan limits and interest rates, prepare the required documents, and apply by visiting or sending registered mail to the Jinju City Job and Economy Division. Similar to guaranteed loans, applications will close once funds are exhausted.

The handling financial institutions include BNK Gyeongnam Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, KEB Hana Bank, 15 Saemaeul Geumgo branches, and local agricultural and livestock cooperatives within the jurisdiction.

A city official stated, "We hope this support will help maintain a stable management environment and alleviate financial difficulties for small business owners. We will do our best to promptly implement various small business support policies, such as small business management environment improvement projects, to assist small business owners facing hardships amid the economic downturn."

Meanwhile, Jinju City will contribute 2 billion KRW to the Gyeongnam Credit Guarantee Foundation to ensure the smooth implementation of the 2025 Small Business Promotion Fund project.

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