Gyeonggi Province Provides 50 Billion Won in Emergency Business Funds to Companies Affected by U.S. Tariffs...First in Nation

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gap-dong] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 2nd that it will provide emergency special business funds worth 50 billion won to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) directly and indirectly affected by U.S. tariffs, marking the first such initiative in the nation.

Earlier, Governor Kim Dong-yeon held an emergency economic meeting at Pyeongtaek Port on the 31st of last month and said, "Given the anticipated significant damage to mid-sized companies, we will provide 50 billion won in emergency special business funds to SMEs in the automotive sector affected by tariffs," and explained the province's comprehensive response plan to U.S. tariffs, noting, "In the long term, we will carefully establish measures considering impacts on job losses and the regional economy."

Gyeonggi Province's support measure is a preemptive action for SMEs in the province, allocating 50 billion won from reserve funds designated as emergency business stabilization funds within the Gyeonggi Province Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund to the 'Special Business Fund for Export Companies Affected by Tariffs.'

The 'Special Business Fund for Export Companies Affected by Tariffs' targets SMEs directly and indirectly affected by U.S. tariff imposition on exports. It supports not only companies with export performance within the past year but also companies facing management difficulties due to tariff imposition.

Specifically, the terms include △support limit of up to 500 million won per company △loan period of 5 years (1-year grace period followed by 4 equal annual installments) △fixed secondary interest subsidy of 2.5% △guarantee fee support of 0.9%, providing financial assistance with minimized burden.

The loan interest rate is 2.5% lower than the rate set by banks thanks to the province's secondary interest subsidy. Additionally, if a guarantee certificate from the Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation is applied as collateral for the special business fund, the province will cover 0.9% of the guarantee fee to provide a guarantee rate of 0.1% annually to ease companies' financial burden. The special business fund's loan limit per company is up to 500 million won and operates as a separate limit from existing working capital among Gyeonggi Province's SME development funds.

Furthermore, companies suffering export-related damage can defer principal repayment for up to 6 months in one instance, for a total of two instances.

Kim Kwang-deok, head of the Regional Finance Division, said, "We hope this special business fund initiative will help stabilize the management of companies affected by tariffs, and will continue to concentrate institutional capacity to provide practical assistance to Gyeonggi Province companies through financial support that actively responds to internal and external crises."

Implementation timing and detailed information will be announced separately through official notices (Gyeonggi Province website notices/announcements) in April. Companies wishing to apply for the special business fund can submit applications online and offline through 27 branches and 4 branch offices of Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation (main number 1577-5900) and the Gyeonggi Province Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund Integrated Management System (g-money.gg.go.kr).