Next Year's Cooperative Budget Set at Record 81.8 Billion Won, Up 78.9 Billion Won

The Ministry of Planning and Budget announced today (September 2) that it has formulated next year's budget for cooperatives at a record-high 81.8 billion won.

This is an increase of 78.9 billion won, or about 28 times compared to this year's main budget of 2.9 billion won.

The ministry stated that through this budget proposal, it will move beyond conventional one-off support centered on education and market access to fully pursue comprehensive support for building a growth ecosystem for cooperatives.

First, it plans to support the artificial intelligence transformation (AX) and digital transformation (DX) of 900 businesses, while providing loans that are 2.5 percentage points cheaper than commercial interest rates to a total of 2,000 entities through partner banks to ease financing difficulties.

It also plans to foster on-site experts by designating 15 regional universities nationwide as "leading universities for cooperatives," aiming to train 1,000 talents, 300 coordinators, and 500 startup teams.

To provide public services in five major areas including healthcare and caregiving, housing, education, and energy, the ministry will also support the planning and commercialization of related joint projects with ministries and local governments.

In addition, the budget will be used to upgrade infrastructure, such as revamping the cooperative management system and promotional portal.

(Photo: Provided by Ministry of Planning and Budget, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.