1% Low-Interest Support for Mid-Sized Companies in National Advanced Strategic Industries

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it will begin recruiting eligible companies for the "National Advanced Strategic Industry Technology Innovation Loan" project, which provides low-interest research and development (R&D) funding worth 90 billion KRW, starting from the 15th.

This project was newly established this year targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies in the national advanced strategic industry sectors. It offers up to 5 billion KRW per company in R&D funding at an interest rate of 1.84% (as of Q1 2024). Repayment terms include a 2-year grace period followed by a 3-year installment repayment plan.

Companies wishing to participate in this project can submit their application documents, including the business plan, online to the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology by the end of this month. After passing the first stage suitability evaluation and the second stage loan screening, qualified companies will be selected to receive support.

The actual loans will be disbursed through 13 nationwide commercial banks selected by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as handling banks for this project. For companies with low collateral capacity, it is possible to obtain a guarantee certificate with an increased guarantee limit of 10 to 15 percentage points (P) through a special guarantee product from the Korea Technology Finance Corporation.

The Ministry plans to hold project briefing sessions from the 16th to the 19th, focusing on companies located in advanced strategic industry specialized complexes, in cooperation with the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology. For more detailed information, please refer to the project announcement from the Ministry or the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology. The Ministry plans to start with 90 billion KRW this year and expand loan support to a total of 390 billion KRW (tentative) over the next four years.