KRW 2 Trillion in Financing for SK hynix Partners... Win-Win Financing Gets Underway

Korea Trade Insurance Corporation to provide 100% guarantees for three years... Banks to cut rates by up to 2.5 percentage points
SK hynix, Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori and Hana banks to participate
Kim Jeongkwan: "Benefits of semiconductor boom to spread to small and midsize companies"

On the 19th, officials from the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, SK hynix, KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and Hana Bank pose for a commemorative photo after signing an agreement to strengthen guarantees for export supply chains at a general industrial complex in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in the presence of Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeonggwan (center). Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

SK hynix, major commercial banks and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation will launch KRW 2 trillion in win-win trade financing to support companies that make semiconductor materials, parts and equipment. The government plans to increase support for the semiconductor sector to at least KRW 5 trillion, expand eligibility to include industries such as defense, nuclear power and biotechnology, and raise KRW 10 trillion in funding by the end of the year.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on the 19th that SK hynix, the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, and Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori and Hana banks had signed an agreement to launch “win-win trade financing for the semiconductor sector” at the SK hynix cluster in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, with Minister Kim Jeongkwan in attendance.

The program uses contributions from large companies and banks to fund guarantees provided by the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, enabling it to offer low-interest financing with higher limits to partner small and medium-sized companies. The semiconductor sector’s KRW 2 trillion support package is the largest among agreements signed with a single company to date. The funding will come from contributions by SK hynix and the banks, combined with guarantees from the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation.

Eligible companies are SK hynix-recommended partners. After undergoing a guarantee review by the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, they can obtain loans through the four banks that signed the agreement. For three years, the corporation will provide 100% guarantees and apply a special guarantee fee. The banks will offer preferential interest rates of up to 2.5 percentage points and cover the full guarantee fee for three years.

Given the scale of the semiconductor industry, the maximum guarantee limit for each company will also be 50% higher than that for companies in other industries. The government expects this measure to help semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies, which face relatively more difficult financing conditions, secure the funds they need for facility investment and technology development.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeonggwan (right) listens to SK hynix CEO and President Kwak Nojeong explain the progress of construction on the first fab in Yongin during a visit to the Yongin General Industrial Complex in Gyeonggi Province on the 19th. Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

The Export Supply Chain Strengthening Guarantee program was launched in August last year. Under the program, leading companies in each industry and banks contribute funds, and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation provides guarantees. Hyundai Motor, HL Mando, POSCO, Kolmar Korea, Musinsa, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries have participated. With SK hynix joining the program, financing support for partner companies through the scheme will rise to a total of KRW 4.4 trillion.

Starting with this KRW 2 trillion support package, the government will further expand the scale of win-win financing for the semiconductor sector. “The government will expand win-win trade financing for the semiconductor sector to at least KRW 5 trillion,” Minister Kim said. “We will actively support the Together Growth Project (R&D), a new semiconductor fund, workforce development and other initiatives to build a win-win ecosystem that spreads the benefits of the semiconductor sector evenly among small and medium-sized companies.”

The government will also extend win-win financing beyond semiconductors to major export industries such as defense, nuclear power and biotechnology, and pursue the goal of raising KRW 10 trillion in funding by the end of the year.

That day, Minister Kim also inspected the construction sites for SK hynix’s first fab in Yongin and the “Trinity Fab.” The Trinity Fab project involves building a mass-production-scale demonstration and testing facility inside SK hynix’s first fab in Yongin, where products from domestic semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies can be evaluated and verified under actual mass-production conditions.

From 2025 to 2031, the project will receive KRW 373.6 billion in central government funding, KRW 57.7 billion in local government funding and KRW 443.3 billion in private funding. The government plans to link financial support with demonstration projects and R&D so that the effects of increased investment by major semiconductor companies extend to materials, parts and equipment companies.

During the site inspection, Minister Kim said, “It is important to rapidly secure domestic semiconductor production capacity to address the global memory shortage.” He also urged officials to take particular care to prevent safety accidents while shortening the construction schedule.

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