Bank of Korea Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch to Strengthen Financial Support for 'Crisis Warning Areas'

Changed to Special Support Category
50% of Loan Amount Provided at Low Interest Rates

The Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch of the Bank of Korea (Director Park Wankun) announced on the 23rd that it will strengthen financial support by including 'small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) located in crisis-prone areas'?the beneficiaries of the financial intermediary support loan for SMEs?in the special support category.

Crisis-prone areas are designated by the Gwangju-Jeonnam Regional Small and Medium Venture Business Administration's SME Support Council and refer to regions within Gwangju and Jeonnam where SMEs are concentrated, such as industrial complexes, knowledge industry centers, and venture business promotion districts.

As local SMEs face increasing difficulties due to factors such as rising exchange rates and raw material prices, the support for SMEs located in crisis-prone areas has been moved from the general support category to the special support category to provide more effective financial assistance.

The SME support fund (C2 Fund) provided through the financial intermediary support loan operated by the Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch of the Bank of Korea is divided into strategic support, special support, and general support categories.

Previously, in the case of the general support category, funds were allocated in proportion to the amount requested within the funding limit, and since the total applications usually exceeded the available funds, the support ratio per company was lower and more variable than that of the special support category (50% of the loan amount).

Accordingly, SMEs in these areas can now receive 50% of their loan amount (up to 1 billion KRW per company) at low interest rates through financial institutions, which will expand the scale of beneficiary funds and enable more stable financial management.

A representative from the Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch of the Bank of Korea stated, "We expect this measure to help improve the financial situation and management conditions of SMEs located in crisis-prone areas and proactively prevent the materialization of crises."

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