Korea Federation of SMEs Expands Preferential Guarantee Support for Small Businesses and Self-Employed with Shinhan Bank and Korea Credit Guarantee Association

Up to 50 Million KRW in Guarantee Support for Yellow Umbrella Subscribers

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on December 28 that it will expand support for agreement guarantees to enhance the business stability of small enterprises and self-employed individuals who have joined the Yellow Umbrella program.

In May, the Korea Federation of SMEs and Shinhan Bank signed a business agreement and contributed 1 billion KRW to the Korea Credit Guarantee Association, providing loans totaling approximately 13 billion KRW to around 400 Yellow Umbrella subscribers. This time, in order to expand financial support for small businesses and self-employed individuals, an additional 1.5 billion KRW will be contributed, with plans to support loans totaling about 20 billion KRW.

Through this agreement guarantee, the guarantee limit per applicant will be preferentially increased up to 150% within a maximum guarantee amount of 50 million KRW, and the guarantee fee rate will be reduced (annual 0.8%, a 0.2 percentage point reduction compared to the general rate). This will help Yellow Umbrella subscribers among small businesses and self-employed individuals secure sufficient funding and ease their financial burden.

Applications for the agreement guarantee can be submitted at all local branches of the regional credit guarantee foundations, and more detailed information is available through the Korea Credit Guarantee Association and 17 regional credit guarantee foundations.

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, stated, "I hope that expanding financial support through the Yellow Umbrella, a social safety net for the self-employed, will provide at least some assistance to small businesses and self-employed individuals facing challenging internal and external conditions." He added, "We will continue our efforts to ensure that more small business owners can receive diverse support through the Yellow Umbrella program in the future."