"Small Business Owners Using Small and Medium Financial Sectors, Apply for Interest Refunds"

Application for Q3 is until September 30
Refund period is from October 8 to 15

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 22nd that it will accept applications for interest refunds for small business owners using small financial institutions in the third quarter until the 30th. The refund process will begin on the 8th of next month.

Photo provided by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Small financial institutions such as savings banks, mutual finance (Nonghyup, Suhyup, Credit Unions, Forestry Cooperatives, Saemaeul Geumgo), and specialized credit finance companies (card companies, capital companies) have been implementing the ‘Small Financial Institutions Interest Refund’ since March 18 to reduce the interest burden on small business owners struggling with high loan interest rates.

The support targets are individual business owners and small corporate enterprises who had business loans with interest rates between 5% and less than 7% from small financial institutions as of December 31 last year. Once it is confirmed that interest has been paid for more than one year, the refund amount for one year (up to 1.5 million KRW per person) will be paid at once during the upcoming quarterly refund period after the interest refund application.

Individual business owners can apply through the Credit Information Center’s online application system without visiting their financial institution. Small corporate enterprises must submit a valid ‘Small Business Confirmation Certificate (Small Enterprise)’ to prove eligibility. However, if the business was closed at the time of application, a ‘confirmation letter issued by the Regional Small and Medium Venture Business Administration’ can be submitted instead of the Small Business Confirmation Certificate.

If a borrower has eligible accounts at multiple financial institutions and applies in person, they only need to visit one financial institution to apply without visiting each institution individually. Participating financial institutions in this program will share borrower application information through the Credit Information Center.

Upon receiving the application, the financial institution will verify whether the borrower has paid interest for at least one year, then deposit the refund amount into the borrower’s principal and interest automatic transfer account in their name during the first quarterly refund period after one year’s interest has been fully paid, and notify the borrower via text message. The refund period for the third quarter is from the 8th to the 15th of next month. Even if the application is completed, if interest for any of the eligible accounts has not been paid for one year, the refund will be paid after the one-year interest payment is completed for that account.