Financial Services Commission Holds Working-Level Meeting with Ministries for Success of the 'National Growth Fund'

Enhancing Understanding of the National Growth Fund and Gathering Opinions
Request for Active Cooperation in Identifying Symbolic Projects

The Financial Services Commission announced on the 31st that it held a working-level meeting on the National Growth Fund, as well as the 12th Policy Finance Support Council, at the Government Complex Seoul, chaired by Secretary General Shin Jin-chang, with the participation of relevant government ministries, policy finance institutions, and local governments.

During the meeting, participants shared updates on the progress of the National Growth Fund following the National Growth Fund Public Report event held on September 10, and discussed cooperation plans between ministries and local governments. Notably, local governments such as Busan Metropolitan City and South Jeolla Province also attended the meeting to enhance their understanding of the National Growth Fund and pledged active support for regional projects.

Regarding the National Growth Fund, the Financial Services Commission has reviewed the decision-making structure and key projects that will symbolize the fund through more than 20 working-level meetings to date. On the 29th, financial sector practitioners gathered at Korea Development Bank to explain the practical procedures for applications and reviews related to the National Growth Fund and to collect feedback. On this day, the commission also explained the National Growth Fund to local governments and ministries, urging them to make active efforts to discover new projects.

Shin Jin-chang, Secretary General of the Financial Services Commission, stated, "The National Growth Fund is a matter of vital importance for our economy and finance, and the government must mobilize all available resources to ensure its success." He added, "The National Growth Fund aims to allocate more than 40% of its resources to regional areas, so please pay special attention to identifying projects that can expand the local high-tech industry ecosystem."

The meeting also reviewed performance results for the key funding areas of the Policy Finance Support Council through the third quarter of this year. At the 9th Policy Finance Support Council held in December last year, four policy finance institutions (Korea Development Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, and Korea Technology Finance Corporation) set a total supply plan of 247.3 trillion won for this year. They also agreed to focus 138 trillion won plus alpha-a 22 trillion won (19.1%) increase from last year-on five key funding areas reflecting each ministry's industrial policy.

Upon reviewing the results through the third quarter, the four institutions had supplied a total of 138 trillion won to the five key funding areas by September, meeting the annual target. In particular, funds were actively allocated to advanced strategic industries and future promising sectors to foster new growth engines. In the field of artificial intelligence, more than 10.6 trillion won was provided, far exceeding the initial annual work plan of 5 trillion won. In addition, a combined total of 900 billion won in direct investments by the four institutions has been completed, approaching the annual direct investment target of over 1 trillion won.

Plans for gathering opinions to establish next year's policy finance supply plan were also discussed. Next year, as the National Growth Fund becomes fully operational, policy finance support for advanced strategic industries and related sectors is expected to expand. The impact on each industry is also expected to differ due to changes in tariffs and the global supply chain. Secretary General Shin requested, "Since ministries have a better grasp of industry trends, please fully share the current issues and key projects for each ministry's respective industries."

Starting next year, the policy to expand regional supply of policy finance, announced through the Local Finance Incentive Activation Plan on October 22, will be fully implemented. The four policy finance institutions plan to supply 41% (estimated at about 103 trillion won) of total funds to regional areas next year, which is 1 percentage point higher than this year's level (40%), by offering preferential interest rates and special funds.