Gwangju Bank and KakaoBank Step Up Financial Support for Small Business Owners in Gwangju

Special Contributions of 2 Billion and 500 Million Won Respectively

On the 2nd, Gwangju Bank signed an agreement for the 2024 Special Guarantee Loan Support Project for Small Business Owners at Gwangju City Hall, attended by Kang Ki-jung, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, Ko Byung-in, President of Gwangju Bank, Kim Gwi-nam, Chairman of Gwangju Credit Guarantee Foundation, and other officials.

Gwangju Bank will make a special contribution of 2 billion KRW to expand financial support for small business owners in the Gwangju area. This amount is double the 1 billion KRW contributed last year. Using these funds, the Gwangju Credit Guarantee Foundation will provide 44.8 billion KRW in special guarantees. Gwangju City will support interest subsidies of 3-4% for one year.

At the 2024 Special Guarantee Loan Support Project Agreement Ceremony for Small Business Owners, Kang Ki-jung, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City (left in the photo), and Ko Byung-il, President of Gwangju Bank, are taking a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Gwangju Bank]

The support targets small enterprises, small business owners, and self-employed individuals in 58 industries such as retail and food service within Gwangju City, providing up to 50 million KRW per company. The loan period is up to 5 years, and applications can be made at all branches of Gwangju Bank.

Since 2020, Gwangju Bank has made a total special contribution of 5 billion KRW to small business owners in Gwangju City, supplying 132.4 billion KRW in special guarantee loans.

Ko Byung-il, President of Gwangju Bank, said, “We hope this special guarantee will bring warm support to small enterprises and small business owners in the region who are struggling with financing due to the economic downturn. Going forward, Gwangju Bank, as the primary depository bank of Gwangju Metropolitan City, will actively participate in projects promoted by the city, prioritizing co-growth with the local community, and will do its best to fulfill its role as the representative bank of Gwangju and Jeonnam.”

Kakao Bank also participated in this support agreement. It contributed 500 million KRW to the Gwangju Credit Guarantee Foundation and joined as a financial institution in the Gwangju City small business owner interest subsidy loan program, which supports interest subsidies of up to 4%. Kakao Bank plans to launch an interest subsidy loan product next month that will allow non-face-to-face applications through its application (app).

Lee Byung-su, Service Owner (SO) of KakaoBank Individual Business Owner Camp (right), and Kang Ki-jung, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, are posing for a commemorative photo at the 'Special Guarantee Support Agreement Ceremony for Small Business Owners' held at Gwangju City Hall on the 2nd. Photo by KakaoBank