Jang Young-jin, President of KEXIM: "Establishing a Branch in Washington, D.C. to Gather Information on the Trump Second-Term Administration"

K-SURE to Provide Record-High 252 Trillion Won in Trade Insurance This Year
100 Trillion Won Targeted for SME Support
Strengthening Assistance for Overseas Subsidiaries of Export Companies

Jang Young-jin, President of the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE), announced on the 15th that "a branch office will be established in Washington in the first half of the year to collect real-time information on political and economic trends in the United States, which have become increasingly important with the inauguration of the second Trump administration."

At a press conference held near the Government Sejong Complex on the same day, President Jang said, "It is expected that there will be considerable difficulties for the Korean economy and exports this year due to the deepening of protectionism following the launch of the second Trump administration, China's oversupply, and increased exchange rate volatility."

Jang Young-jin, President of the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, is speaking at a press conference held on the 15th.

K-SURE plans to strengthen support for local subsidiaries of export companies in response to the spread of protectionism and the restructuring of supply chains. Previously, in December last year, the 'Global Sales Insurance' was introduced to help local subsidiaries secure working capital smoothly. President Jang stated, "This year, we plan to further develop this by launching a new product that covers the risk when overseas local subsidiaries fail to receive payment after sales," and emphasized, "To support large overseas projects, we will expand the scope of overseas branch office operations beyond debt collection and credit investigation to include discovering new projects within the country and marketing to ordering companies to support contract acquisition." Additionally, K-SURE plans to establish a 'New Business Finance Department' dedicated to strategic industries such as defense to enhance opportunities for Korean companies to secure overseas projects.

This year, K-SURE will prioritize support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by providing more than 100 trillion won in support, expanding the scale of trade insurance support to a record high of 252 trillion won. President Jang explained, "Under the recognition that exports and the economy thrive only when SMEs thrive, we have expanded support for SMEs every year, and last year, we provided a record 97 trillion won to small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies." He added, "In particular, by cooperating with seven banks including Hana and Shinhan, we launched the 'Export Package Preferential Guarantee,' which offers lower interest rates and higher limits than existing trade finance, providing preferential financing of 988 billion won, which played a significant role in alleviating the financial burden of export SMEs and mid-sized companies."

President Jang also plans to actively address blind spots in export financing. He said, "There have been criticisms that existing institutional finance evaluates companies based on past performance, leaving companies with promising future growth or those experiencing temporary difficulties excluded from support." He added, "Therefore, we will carefully ensure that companies with high growth potential do not fail to export due to lack of financial support by expanding the scope of special review targets and support amounts beyond existing practices."