Jeonnam-Gwangju Comprehensive Microfinance Support Center Opens... Lee Okwon: "Pacemaker for Small Businesses"

Request to the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency and Financial Sector for Chuseok Policy-Based Microfinance

Sharing Cases of Small Business Funding Support by IBK and the Credit Guarantee Fund

Lee Okwon: "The Government Will Proactively Reach Out to Guide Small Business Owners to Support Programs"

The Financial Services Commission announced that on the 30th, Chairman Lee Okwon attended the opening ceremony of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Comprehensive Support Center for Microfinance in Gwangju, where he shared the current status and future plans for small business support from the government and related organizations.

Eokwon Lee, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, visited Tongin Market in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 21st, listening to merchants about the recent traditional market economy and difficulties. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The opening ceremony was attended by Chairman Lee, Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs of Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City Hwang Kiyeon, Kim Eunkyung, President of the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency and Chairperson of the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service, and Jeong Ilseon, President and CEO of Kwangju Bank, among others.

The Jeonnam-Gwangju Comprehensive Support Center is the second locally integrated public–private joint support space for microfinance, following the opening of the Busan center in July, which was the first of its kind nationwide.

As of last month, the number of self-employed in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region was about 440,000, which is relatively high compared to the national average. Reflecting on the need to provide timely and integrated services spanning finance, employment, and welfare to meet the local demands of small businesses through public–private collaboration, the Financial Services Commission established the center in this region.

The Jeonnam-Gwangju Center will house the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency, the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service, Kwangju Bank, and Smile Microcredit. Kwangju Bank will provide one-stop services for public policy-based microfinance, debt restructuring, and integrated consulting and referral related to employment and welfare.

Furthermore, Kwangju Bank plans to launch the “Jeonnam-Gwangju Hope Ladder,” a locally tailored installment savings and loan product. It also intends to offer free consulting services related to the “Jeonnam-Gwangju Hope Ladder Loan Product,” providing an additional preferential interest rate of 0.5 percentage points for small business owners in Jeonnam-Gwangju who report annual income of less than 50 million won.

Chairman Lee stated, "The Jeonnam-Gwangju Center will become a bridge of hope for local residents and small business owners seeking recovery," adding, "The Financial Services Commission will act as a pacemaker for the recovery process of the region's residents and small businesses so that the warmth of comprehensive support can spread wider and further throughout Jeonnam-Gwangju."

Chairman Lee also requested that the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency and the financial sector actively extend policy finance to the field. The Financial Services Commission decided to increase the supply of policy finance products—such as the “Hae-sal Loan” and “Hae-sal Loan Youth” aimed at low-income, vulnerable, and young people—to 480 billion won over a two-month period, from the 1st of this month to the 31st of next month, which is more than four times the previous year's supply.

He urged, "I hope the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency and the financial sector will proactively provide funds to those in need, so that the 480 billion won in policy-based microfinance for Chuseok stabilization of livelihoods can quickly alleviate funding difficulties in the field."

Immediately after the opening ceremony, Chairman Lee attended a face-to-face meeting with local small business owners. The meeting was attended by Lee Yesoon, acting president of the Gwangju Federation of Small Businesses, local small business owners, Jeong (President of Kwangju Bank), representatives of Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), the Credit Guarantee Fund, Industrial Bank of Korea, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, and Gwangju Credit Guarantee Foundation, among others.

According to the Financial Services Commission, from today, KAMCO, the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency, and the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service will begin integrated digital linkage for comprehensive support. In addition, the Commission plans to facilitate integrated support linking services among Industrial Bank of Korea, Credit Guarantee Fund, the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency, and the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service by next year.

At the meeting, several cases were shared, including a general retailer small business owner who received operating funds through the Industrial Bank of Korea's “IBK Small Business Hope Dream Loan” and a young small business owner who grew their business using funds from the Credit Guarantee Fund's “Small Business Step-Up Special Guarantee.”

Chairman Lee emphasized at the meeting, "Despite the existence of diverse support systems for small business owners, many miss the golden time to overcome crises due to being overwhelmed by daily work. The government will proactively reach out and offer a helping hand to ensure that small business owners can easily and conveniently access and be connected to various support programs, staying by their side until they get back on their feet."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.