Seoul City Provides '1.7 Trillion Won' in Policy Funds to Support Small Business Owners

Increase of 100 Billion KRW Compared to Last Year
Funding Applications Available from the 8th

Seoul City will support the ‘2024 Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Development Fund’ with a scale of 1.7 trillion KRW, an increase of 100 billion KRW compared to the previous year, to help SMEs and small business owners overcome management crises.

On the 8th, Seoul City announced that it will supply a total of 1.7 trillion KRW, consisting of 200 billion KRW in ‘fixed interest rate direct loan funds’ such as facility funds and emergency self-employed funds, and 1.5 trillion KRW in ‘variable interest rate and interest rate protection funds’ including Hope Companion Fund and Safe Interest Rate Fund 2.0. Applications for funding are available starting today.

According to the ‘2024 Small Business Management Status and Policy Tasks’ survey by the Korea Federation of SMEs, 92.5% of small business owners expect their management situation this year to be similar to or worse than last year. The most desired support policy was overcoming management crises through financial support (72.9%). Reflecting the wishes of many small business owners, Seoul City plans to expand funding support to help overcome management crises.

Looking specifically at the funds to be supported this time, first, a total of 300 billion KRW will be provided for the refinancing loan fund ‘Hope Companion Fund’ to reduce the financial burden of companies using guarantees from the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation. The maximum amount per company is up to 100 million KRW, with a 2.0% interest rate subsidy. Additionally, early repayment fees and Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation guarantee fees are waived.

Furthermore, 200 billion KRW in funds will be provided to vulnerable groups with relatively insufficient debt repayment ability, an increase of 35 billion KRW from last year’s 165 billion KRW. Along with this, the interest rate on direct loan funds will be lowered by 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous year to provide low-interest policy funds. Also, the applied interest rate for the 500 billion KRW quasi-fixed interest rate fund ‘Safe Interest Rate Fund 2.0’ will be reduced by 0.2 percentage points from last year to 3.5%.

Meanwhile, reflecting the trend of strengthening Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management emphasizing environmental and social responsibility, a new ‘Eco-friendly Enterprise Fund’ of 5 billion KRW has been established to support SMEs and small business owners in the environmental sector.

Applications can be made through the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation website and mobile app, or via Shinhan Bank’s ‘Shinhan SOL Biz’, Hana Bank’s ‘Hana One Q Enterprise’, Kookmin Bank’s ‘KB Star Enterprise Banking’, and Woori Bank’s ‘Woori WON Banking Enterprise’ mobile apps.

Small business owners who find non-face-to-face applications difficult can make a visit reservation through the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation website or customer center and visit the branch on the reserved date.

Song Ho-jae, Seoul City’s Labor, Fairness, and Coexistence Policy Officer, said, “This year’s fund supply focuses on new refinancing loan funds, concentrated support for vulnerable groups, and interest rate reductions to alleviate the financial burden on small business owners. We will provide multifaceted support so that small business owners can escape the burden of loan repayment and enhance their self-sustainability.”