The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) announced on October 6 that it has newly allocated 100 billion won in emergency management stabilization funds to support small and medium-sized ventures experiencing business difficulties due to foreign exchange fluctuations and disasters.

The emergency management stabilization fund is a policy fund designed to support the business normalization of SMEs facing temporary operational hardships.

The loan limit per company is up to 1 billion won, with a repayment term consisting of a 2-year grace period followed by 3 years of installment repayments.

For businesses suffering damage from exchange rate fluctuations, an interest rate calculated by adding 0.5 percentage points to the benchmark policy fund rate will be applied.

A special fixed interest rate of 1.5% will be applied to affected businesses in the Geoje and Tongyeong regions, which were recently declared special disaster zones due to torrential rains.

Applications for the funds can be submitted through the KOSME website.

Eligibility will be determined after reviewing requirements and conducting on-site investigations.

"We will do our utmost to ensure that this support serves as a solid pillar of strength for small and medium-sized ventures struggling with exchange rate volatility or disasters," KOSME Chairman Kang Seok-jin said.

(Photo provided by Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, Yonhap News)