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Busan Metropolitan City to Launch Early Policy-Fund Disbursement Ahead of the Lunar New Year Holiday to Flexibly Respond to Changing Economic Conditions

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that, in consideration of the concentrated funding demand among SMEs and small businesses ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, it will proactively implement early disbursement of KRW 140 billion in policy funds from early January.

Busan Metropolitan City will begin accepting applications early from early January for KRW 50 billion in SME working capital loans and KRW 90 billion in special funds for small businesses, minimizing pre-holiday funding gaps and supporting SMEs and small businesses in maintaining stable business operations.

• ●[SME Working Capital Loans] Of the total KRW 450 billion, KRW 50 billion will be accepted early from January 5 to January 7. Applications will be reviewed by the Busan Economic Promotion Agency (☎ 051-728-8046), which will issue a recommendation letter. Applicants must then submit the letter to one of 14 commercial banks.

• ●[Special Funds for Small Businesses] Of the total KRW 450 billion, KRW 90 billion will be accepted early beginning January 2. Applications can be submitted through the Busan Credit Guarantee Foundation (☎ 051-860-6600).

In addition, Busan Metropolitan City will allocate KRW 50 billion again next year—following this year’s program—for the “Exchange Rate Care” Special Fund to support companies affected by the high exchange rate.

Under this program, companies may receive up to KRW 800 million per company (up to KRW 1 billion for designated “Prestigious Local Companies”), along with an interest-rate subsidy of 2% for three years, in order to ease short-term liquidity crises caused by sharp exchange-rate fluctuations.

Furthermore, to provide meaningful relief from financial burdens for SMEs and small businesses, Busan Metropolitan City plans to raise the interest-rate subsidy rates for policy funds and lower the interest rates for SME development funds, thereby expanding overall support limits.

• ●The interest-rate subsidy rate for “SME Development Funds” and “Working Capital Loans” will be expanded from the current 1.0–1.5% to 1.5–2.0%, and the rate for “Special Funds for Small Businesses” will be raised from 1.0% to 1.5%, reducing interest burdens.

• ●In particular, for SME Development Funds, the effective interest rate will be lowered from 3.45% to around 2.8%, and the per-company funding limit will be increased from KRW 1.5 billion to KRW 1.8 billion, further strengthening the investment capacity of growth-stage companies that need facility investment funding.

Meanwhile, Busan Metropolitan City has swiftly arranged and supplied special funds this year—KRW 100 billion for businesses harmed by tariffs and KRW 100 billion to support businesses affected by the high exchange rate—to assist local businesses facing difficulties due to changes in global economic conditions. It is also continuing to strengthen its communication-based administration by listening to challenges faced by businesses on the ground and actively reflecting them in policies.

• ●[SME Working Capital Loans] Previously, only companies with both headquarters and branch offices located in Busan were eligible for support. Reflecting on-the-ground requests from businesses, the program has been improved so that companies whose headquarters are in Busan can receive support even if their branch offices are located outside Busan.

• ●[SME Development Funds] Previously, when constructing a new factory and purchasing land, land costs were excluded from eligible support. Starting in 2026, the program will be improved so that land costs will also be eligible for policy-fund support.

• ●Busan Metropolitan City also plans to respond flexibly by additionally allocating and supplying policy funds as needed in 2026, depending on changes in domestic and international economic conditions.

For more details, visit the Busan Metropolitan City website and search for “SME Funding Support Plan” under Busan News > Notices > Public Notices: busan.go.kr.

Mayor Park Heong-joon said, “In consideration of the situation where funding burdens on SMEs and small businesses intensify ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, we have proactively moved up the policy-fund disbursement schedule.” He added, “We will continue to closely monitor the management conditions of local businesses and supply policy funds in a timely manner when financial support is needed, actively supporting local businesses so that they can focus on management with confidence.”