Yongin City Supports Low-Interest Loans for Returning Farmers' Settlement Stabilization

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Yongin City has decided to support low-interest loans at an annual rate of 2% for agricultural startup funds and home purchase expenses to help returning farmers settle stably.

Applications will be accepted until the 11th of next month.

Agricultural startup funds can be loaned for establishing farming foundations, constructing and purchasing (or repairing) agro-food manufacturing and processing facilities.

The maximum loan amount per household is 300 million won.

Home purchase funds can be borrowed for buying or constructing homes, or for expanding or renovating aging farmhouses owned by the borrower.

Loans of up to 75 million won per household are available.

Loans are provided through Nonghyup Bank, and borrowers can choose between a fixed interest rate of 2% per annum or a floating rate.

The repayment terms are a 5-year grace period followed by equal principal installments over 10 years, with only interest payments during the grace period.

Applicants must be household heads aged 65 or younger (born on or after January 1, 1956) who have relocated to rural areas of Yongin City from non-agricultural regions for less than 5 years, regardless of province or city.

However, residents who have registered in rural areas of the city for more than one year and have no farming experience within the past 5 years (non-agricultural residents) can only receive agricultural startup loans.

The city plans to hold a selection committee meeting in July to review business plans, farming settlement motivation, and loan repayment plans to rank applicants.

Based on this, Gyeonggi Province will determine the funding amount and final recipients by city and county. However, separate loan review by Nonghyup Bank will be conducted when funds are provided.

For detailed information, visit the city homepage (https://www.yongin.go.kr) under the Notices section, and applicants can submit relevant documents at the city's Agricultural Policy Division.

A city official stated, "We will prepare various support programs to expand the agricultural foundation of Yongin, a rural-urban composite city."