KAMCO Extends Rent Support for Small Business Owners and SMEs Until June

Up to 50% Rent Support... Late Payment Interest Rate Reduced to 5%

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) is extending rental support benefits for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners until the first half of this year.

On January 28, KAMCO announced that it will extend the rent reduction period for buildings such as factories and business sites acquired through the Asset Purchase and Leaseback Program (S&LB) to support SMEs until the end of June this year.

The S&LB program is a method where KAMCO temporarily purchases assets such as factories and office buildings from companies experiencing liquidity crises (with a right of first refusal) and then leases them back to support the companies. From 2015 until the end of last year, KAMCO purchased approximately KRW 787 billion from a total of 63 companies. Due to the revision of the Local Tax Special Cases Act, acquisition tax is exempted when repurchasing assets sold to KAMCO starting this year.

The extension of support targets small business owners and SMEs renting buildings acquired by KAMCO through the S&LB program. Rent will be reduced by 25% until the end of June this year, and the overdue interest rate will be lowered to 5%. For businesses subject to gathering restrictions in the metropolitan area, rent will be reduced by up to 50%. Through this, support worth approximately KRW 3.17 billion is expected for 104 companies.

Previously, from March 2020 until the end of last year, KAMCO supported a total of about KRW 13.06 billion for 126 companies residing in buildings acquired through the S&LB program in this manner.

Kwon Nam-joo, President of KAMCO, said, "With this support measure, we hope to ease the management burden of small business owners and SMEs and take one step closer to overcoming COVID-19. Going forward, KAMCO will continue to make every effort to help small business owners and SMEs regain vitality and leap forward beyond COVID-19."