Jeonbuk Province Signs Business Agreement for Financial Support of Small Business Recovery Fund

Seven Financial Institutions Including KB Kookmin Bank and Jeonbuk Credit Guarantee Foundation Participate

Jeonbuk Autonomous Province signed a business agreement for the 'Small Business Revival Bodeum Fund Financial Support' on the 17th at the provincial government conference room.

This agreement involved seven financial institutions?KB Kookmin Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Jeonbuk Bank, Hana Bank, and Kakao Bank?as well as the Jeonbuk Credit Guarantee Foundation.

Jeonbuk Provincial Office building exterior. Provided by Jeonbuk Province

Through this agreement, Jeonbuk Autonomous Province and nine cities and counties will contribute funds for special guarantee, and the financial institutions will provide low-interest loans to small business owners. In addition, the Jeonbuk Credit Guarantee Foundation will offer special guarantees to help small business owners secure funds more stably.

The 'Bodeum Fund Financial Support Project' is a program designed to help small business owners facing management crises secure funding. The province, cities, counties, and financial institutions collaborate to provide special guarantees and interest subsidies, thereby supporting the business stability of small business owners in the region and revitalizing the local economy.

This year, the scale of the project has been greatly expanded to benefit more small business owners. The Bodeum Fund Financial Support Project will operate with a total budget of 375 billion KRW, an increase of 240 billion KRW compared to the previous year. The contribution funds have also increased from 9 billion KRW to 30 billion KRW. Jeonbuk Autonomous Province will contribute 2 billion KRW, the nine cities and counties 4.2 billion KRW, financial institutions 14.6 billion KRW, and the Credit Guarantee Foundation 9.2 billion KRW, strengthening support for small business owners.

The Bodeum Fund support is divided into direct and indirect support. Direct support provides special guarantees using funds jointly contributed by the province and financial institutions. Indirect support provides interest subsidies for special guarantees contributed by the cities and counties. The direct support targets are: ▲Businesses facing management difficulties (up to 70 million KRW) ▲Businesses conducting their first transaction with the foundation (up to 100 million KRW) ▲Businesses with high growth potential (up to 200 million KRW), with a guarantee period of up to 8 years (1-year grace period and 7-year installment repayment or 8-year installment repayment).

Indirect support is provided through the 'Hope The Dream Special Guarantee' implemented by the nine cities and counties, guaranteeing up to 100 million KRW, with a guarantee period of up to 5 years depending on each local agreement. To further ease the financial burden on small business owners, Jeonbuk Autonomous Province will provide an annual interest subsidy of 1.0% for three years. Additionally, the cities and counties will offer an extra annual interest subsidy of 1?3%, further reducing the loan interest burden. The province expects that, through these measures, small business owners will be able to utilize low-interest loans to maintain stable management.

Kim Kwan-young, Governor of Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, stated, "Through this agreement, we will expand practical financial support so that small business owners in the province can continue their businesses more stably," and added, "We will continue to work with financial institutions to develop various support measures to invigorate the local economy."