Busan Allocates KRW 1.368 Trillion for Rapid SME Support

Financial Institutions Collaborate to Provide Working Capital
for Businesses Facing Management Challenges

Busan Metropolitan City has begun monitoring the pace of funding support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

On May 8, the city, led by Acting Mayor Kim Kyung-Deok, announced on May 10 that it held a meeting at City Hall with relevant organizations to discuss strategies for the prompt delivery of expanded working capital to SMEs.

The meeting was attended by the President of Busan Economic Promotion Agency, as well as representatives from major financial institutions including BNK Busan Bank, Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, and Woori Bank.

The city explained that local businesses are facing deteriorating management conditions due to the prolonged conflict in the Middle East, a high exchange rate, and rising oil prices.

A survey by the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry also identified rising costs of raw materials and energy (43.3%), increased exchange rate volatility (31.7%), and a slowdown in consumption recovery (10.5%) as key risk factors.

In response, the city has allocated an additional 500 billion won in working capital, expanding the total support to 1.368 trillion won. From April to December, companies with maturing loans can receive up to a six-month grace period on repayments and interest subsidies.

During the meeting, the city asked financial institutions to expedite loan screening and execution procedures to ensure that policy funds are delivered quickly to the field. They also discussed expanding preferential interest rates and prioritizing support for SMEs.

Busan Metropolitan City plans to strengthen cooperation with financial institutions to ensure a stable funding supply system.

Acting Mayor Kim Kyung-Deok stated, "We will work together to ensure that funds are supplied to the companies in need in a timely manner," and added, "We will continue to support business stability."

Kim Kyungdeok, Deputy Mayor of Busan (fourth from the left), and others are holding a financial institution meeting to expand support for working capital for small and medium-sized enterprises.

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