KOSME to Support KRW 200 Billion in Corporate Bond Issuance for Medium-Sized Enterprises

Recruiting Companies for the 2026 Scaling Up Finance Program
Paving the Way for Large-Scale Direct Financing to Help Medium-Sized Enterprises Grow into Larger Companies

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) announced on March 22 that they are recruiting participating companies for the "2026 Scaling Up Finance Program."

Jungjingong Headquarters, Jinju, Gyeongnam

The Scaling Up Finance Program is designed to support medium-sized enterprises with strong business potential that find it difficult to issue corporate bonds based solely on their own credit, by enabling them to secure funding directly from the financial market. In particular, by utilizing a private and public co-financed asset securitization method (P-CBO), the program supplies larger-scale funding than typical policy loans, thereby providing substantial support for the scaling up of medium-sized enterprises. From 2019 to 2025, the Ministry and KOSME selected 650 innovative SMEs for the Scaling Up Finance Program, supporting each company in issuing approximately KRW 2.7 billion in corporate bonds. Among the supported companies, 25 achieved KRW 100 billion in sales, and 16 successfully went public (IPO), demonstrating tangible results.

KOSME plans to support the issuance of corporate bonds totaling around KRW 200 billion through this announcement. Each company may secure up to KRW 12 billion in funding, with a maximum maturity of five years. The program will focus on outstanding medium-sized enterprises in the fields of innovative growth, super-gap and new industries, and companies selected for the Jump-Up program to help secure future growth engines. Eligible applicants are medium-sized enterprises, as defined by the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises, that have received a corporate bond credit rating of B+ or higher from a credit rating agency. The support amount and bond interest rate for each company will be applied differently according to their credit rating. Applications for the Scaling Up Finance Program can be submitted online via the KOSME website until April 3, and further details are available through KOSME's 34 regional offices nationwide or the policy fund information call center.

Sukkyoon Kang, Chairman of KOSME, stated, "The Scaling Up Finance Program serves as a catalyst for medium-sized enterprises with growth potential to directly secure funding in the capital market," and added, "We will actively support outstanding medium-sized enterprises so they can grow into larger companies through this program."

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