Baedal Minjok Launches 100 Billion KRW Financial Support Program for Small Business Owners

Partnership Formed for Guarantee Loan Support
with KakaoBank and Regional Credit Guarantee Foundations

Baedal Minjok is launching a financial support program worth 100 billion KRW to assist small business owners.

Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok, announced on January 23 that it has partnered with KakaoBank and regional credit guarantee foundations to implement a 100 billion KRW guarantee loan program for small business owners in the restaurant industry and traditional markets struggling due to the prolonged economic downturn.

On this day, Woowa Brothers signed a “Financial Support Agreement for Coexistence with Small Business Owners” with KakaoBank at Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Previously, last year, Woowa Brothers collaborated with commercial banks and the Korea Federation of Credit Guarantee Foundations to launch a 100 billion KRW guarantee loan program. Through this initiative, they provided credit guarantees for small business owners who faced difficulties obtaining loans due to low credit ratings or insufficient collateral, enabling them to access loans at low interest rates. Over the past year, more than 2,600 small business owners and self-employed individuals received guarantee loans averaging 40 million KRW each.

Based on this new agreement, the second phase of the program with KakaoBank and regional credit guarantee foundations has further improved convenience and accessibility for applicants. First, Woowa Brothers and KakaoBank will each contribute 3.5 billion KRW, totaling 7 billion KRW, as guarantee funds. The regional credit guarantee foundations will use these funds to issue guarantee certificates to small business owners, after which KakaoBank will conduct loan reviews and disburse funds based on the guarantee certificates.

The participating organizations are offering a low-interest loan program to small business owners in urgent need of funds to help ease the burden caused by business deterioration. Depending on local government interest subsidy policies, the interest rate can be reduced to as low as the 1% range. In addition, all applicants will receive the same interest rate regardless of their credit rating, and support has been expanded to include a 50% refund of guarantee fees and exemption from early repayment fees.

The maximum guarantee limit is 100 million KRW, with a guarantee period of up to five years. Borrowers can choose favorable repayment options, such as a lump-sum repayment at maturity after two years or installment repayment over four years following a one-year grace period. The program will be launched in ten regions-Busan, Daegu, Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk, Sejong, Ulsan, Gwangju, Jeonnam, Chungbuk, and Chungnam-starting January 24, and is planned to expand nationwide within the first half of the year.

Kim Beomseok, CEO of Woowa Brothers, stated, “We hope this financial support program will help self-employed individuals overcome funding difficulties and operate their businesses stably,” adding, “Woowa Brothers will continue to listen to and consider the voices of all stakeholders, and grow together with them.”

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