Chungnam Province Expands Support for SMEs and Small Business Owners... NongHyup Makes Special Contribution of 4.7 Billion Won

Governor Kim Tae-heum:
"Nonghyup's Special Contribution Will Help
Ease Debt Burdens and Management Difficulties"

Governor Kim Taehum, Director Park Jangsun, Chairman Cho Sohang who signed the business agreement

Chungnam Province has stepped forward to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners who are struggling due to the ongoing economic downturn.

On the morning of the 17th, Governor Kim Tae-heum of Chungnam held a special contribution business agreement signing ceremony in the provincial government situation room, attended by Park Jangsoon, Head of the Chungnam Regional Headquarters of NH Nonghyup Bank, Cho Sohang, Chairman of the Chungnam Credit Guarantee Foundation, and other related officials, to provide financial support for SMEs and small business owners.

At the signing ceremony, the Chungnam Regional Headquarters of NH Nonghyup Bank agreed to make a special contribution of 4.7 billion KRW to the Chungnam Credit Guarantee Foundation to help support the financing of small business owners.

Based on this special contribution, the Chungnam Credit Guarantee Foundation plans to provide credit guarantees worth 70.5 billion KRW, which is 15 times the amount of the special contribution, to SMEs and small business owners in the province who lack sufficient collateral.

Earlier, last month, Chungnam Province, together with its 15 cities and counties, secured a budget of 57.5 billion KRW?split equally between provincial and local governments?and announced a support measure to provide 500,000 KRW per business to small business owners. The recipients are 127,786 businesses (58% of the total 249,281 small business owners with fewer than five regular employees?fewer than ten for manufacturing and construction?who, as of the announcement date, have resident registration in the province and operate a business with annual sales of less than 104 million KRW in the previous year.

Governor Kim stated, “The grassroots economy, including SMEs and small business owners, must be revitalized for the entire Chungnam economy to gain momentum,” and added, “This year, we will supply a record-high 1.2 trillion KRW in policy funds for SMEs and small business owners and focus on improving financial accessibility through the strong Chungnam Financial Support Center.”

The province plans to provide 600 billion KRW in small business guarantee-linked funds this year, an increase of 100 billion KRW from last year, to help reduce the financial burden and secure liquidity for small business owners who lack sufficient collateral.

At the signing ceremony, Governor Kim Tae-heum said, “With high interest rates, high prices, and even political turmoil, domestic consumption saw its sharpest decline in 21 years last year, and the economic sentiment among SMEs and small business owners is even worse than during the IMF crisis,” adding, “Nonghyup’s special contribution will help alleviate the debt burden and management difficulties faced by SMEs and small business owners.”