Mayor Lee Jangwoo of Daejeon: "Ultra-Low Interest Fund Support for Small Businesses... Special Guarantee Program Launched"

Operating 600 Billion Won Fund, Providing Annual 2.7% Interest Support for Two Years Up to 70 Million Won Per Business
Up to 300,000 Won Support Per Business for Small Business Owners with Less Than 104 Million Won in Annual Sales Last Year
Three Core Support Measures: Financial Resources, Fixed Costs, and Consumption Promotion

Lee Jangwoo, Mayor of Daejeon (Photo by Mo Seokbong)

On January 6, Lee Jangwoo, Mayor of Daejeon, held a press conference in the city hall briefing room and announced, "To help small business owners overcome management crises and ease their financial burdens, the city will continue to operate a 600 billion won fund this year, as it did last year. We will provide interest support at an annual rate of 2.7% for two years, up to a maximum of 70 million won per business."

He added, "We will also provide up to 300,000 won per business to small business owners whose annual sales last year were less than 104 million won, with support available until the end of March."

Mayor Lee described small business owners as "the backbone of the local economy and the main drivers of the people's livelihood," and announced three core support measures covering financial resources, fixed costs, and consumption promotion.

Photo by Daejeon City Provided

In particular, Daejeon City is launching a comprehensive support program totaling 94.5 billion won to help stabilize the management of small business owners and traditional markets suffering from prolonged economic downturn and shrinking consumption.

First, the city will efficiently improve and provide Daejeon-style ultra-low interest funds in a timely manner to help businesses overcome management crises and ease financial burdens.

The ultra-low interest fund, first introduced in 2024 with a scale of 400 billion won, will continue this year with 600 billion won, providing interest support at an annual rate of 2.7% for two years, up to a maximum of 70 million won per business.

Photo by Daejeon City Provided

Last year, funds averaging about 32.5 million won per business were provided to 17,909 businesses, and for companies that received support from 2022 to 2025, the city reduced their interest burden by 31.5 billion won just last year. This year, approximately 18,000 businesses are expected to benefit from these loans.

Notably, the "Special Guarantee for Overcoming Management Crisis," which expands support to low-credit and low-income small business owners, will be fully implemented starting January 6, based on a joint contribution of 21 billion won by the city and six major financial institutions (Kookmin, Nonghyup, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, and Kakao), supporting a total of 315 billion won.

Additionally, the city will supply a special ultra-low interest fund of 285 billion won, consisting of new and refinancing loans, in cooperation with 13 commercial banks throughout the year, and will continue the special guarantee for diligent small business owners, which was introduced nationwide for the first time last year.

Mayor Lee emphasized, "The most direct and tangible support for small business owners is timely provision of management funds," and pledged, "We will provide responsible support to the end to substantially ease their financial burdens."

Furthermore, Daejeon City will also implement policies to support business recovery and fixed costs for small business owners facing increased fixed expenses due to sluggish domestic demand and rising prices.

The business recovery support fund, which was implemented last year as an emergency measure for small business owners in crisis, will be provided earlier this year before the Lunar New Year holiday, offering up to 300,000 won per business to those whose annual sales last year were less than 104 million won, with support available until the end of March.

For small business owners with annual sales below 80 million won, the city will continue to provide 300,000 won in rent support, and for those who hire new employees, 1.5 million won in wage support per worker, regardless of sales volume.

Finally, the city will significantly expand its own Onnuri gift certificate refund program for purchases of agricultural, livestock, and marine products at traditional markets during the holiday season.

Previously, the government refund program was operated mainly for large markets, resulting in decreased sales at nearby traditional markets and continued complaints from merchants demanding that primary processed foods (such as rice cakes and oil) made from agricultural, livestock, and marine products be included in the refund program.

In response, Daejeon City will inject an additional 1.3 billion won of municipal funds to run its own refund program in parallel with the government program, including nearby traditional markets and primary processed foods. Starting from the upcoming Lunar New Year, refunds of up to 20,000 won in Onnuri gift certificates per person will be provided for purchases of agricultural, livestock, and marine products and primary processed foods at 19 traditional markets.

Photo by Daejeon City

In addition, Daejeon City will strengthen its comprehensive support system for the sustainable growth of small business owners.

The number of participants in entrepreneurship and management improvement training will be expanded from 200 to around 1,000, and a step-by-step support system will be established by linking financial support such as special guarantees for graduates. Through the "Self-Employed Doctor" program, the city will also increase the maximum amount of business closure settlement support for demolition and restoration to 5 million won.

Furthermore, the city will continue to provide up to 11 days of paid sick leave, up to 360,000 won in incentives for joining the Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid Fund, and support for employment and industrial accident insurance premiums.

To improve the environment of traditional markets, the city will launch new arcade cleaning and environmental maintenance projects, and expand the installation of cooling fans to respond to summer heat waves from two sites and 400 million won in 2025 to five to eight sites and 1 billion won this year.

Photo by Daejeon City Provided

Along with this, the city will continue to improve the facilities and parking environment of traditional markets and neighborhood shopping districts, support market marketing, develop sales channels, provide dedicated personnel, and hold consumption promotion events such as night markets and payback programs.

Mayor Lee Jangwoo stated, "This year's support projects for small business owners will focus on prompt assistance, ease of application, and tangible impact on the ground. We will simplify application procedures as much as possible so that small business owners can focus solely on their businesses, and we will do our utmost to revitalize traditional markets and shopping districts."