{"id":595,"date":"2026-07-06T03:05:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T22:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=595"},"modified":"2026-07-06T03:05:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T22:05:33","slug":"south-korea-offers-9-7b-relief-as-weak-won-hits-firms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=595","title":{"rendered":"South Korea offers $9.7B relief as weak won hits firms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdnph.upi.com\/ph\/st\/th\/1781783129956\/2026\/upi_com\/f570339a2dffaa03c9cf7c20bf164aa2\/v1.5\/South-Korea-offers-97B-relief-as-weak-won-hits-firms.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol (C), who serves concurrently as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, attends a meeting of the emergency economic headquarters at the government complex in Sejong, South Korea, 03 July 2026. Photo by YONHAP \/ EPA<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p><span class=\"story_dl\">July 3 (Asia Today) &#8212;<\/span> South Korea will provide 14.9 trillion won ($9.7 billion) in emergency financing and expand tax and trade-insurance support for small and midsize companies struggling with higher import costs caused by the weak won.<\/p>\n<p>The government announced the measures Friday during an emergency economic meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun Cheol at Government Complex Sejong.\n<\/p>\n<p>The package is intended to improve liquidity for companies facing rising raw-material costs and financing pressures as the won remains weak against the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n<p>The government will redirect 13.8 trillion won ($9 billion) in unused capacity from a 23.7 trillion won ($15.5 billion) policy-financing program previously established in response to the Middle East crisis.<\/p>\n<p>An additional 1.1 trillion won ($719 million) in new financing will also be provided. The government said the total could be increased depending on demand and the pace at which available funding is used.\n<\/p>\n<p>The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency will establish a special emergency stabilization fund for companies affected by the exchange rate.<\/p>\n<p>Small companies that import raw materials or components worth at least 20% of annual sales will be allowed to apply without meeting an existing requirement that sales or operating profit must have fallen by at least 10%.<\/p>\n<p>The Export-Import Bank of Korea will increase its special crisis-response program from 7 trillion won ($4.6 billion) to 8 trillion won ($5.2 billion).<\/p>\n<p>The bank will also increase its maximum interest-rate reduction from 2 percentage points to 2.2 percentage points.<\/p>\n<p>A new ultralow-interest loan program will provide financing at rates close to the state-run bank&#8217;s own funding costs for companies affected by the high won-dollar exchange rate.<\/p>\n<p>The Korea Technology Finance Corp. will raise the coverage ratio for its emergency business stabilization guarantees from 95% to 100%. The reduction in guarantee fees will increase from 0.3 percentage points to 0.4 percentage points.<\/p>\n<p>Companies already using government policy loans may also receive repayment deferrals and loan-maturity extensions.<\/p>\n<p>The government will expand import insurance and currency fluctuation insurance to help businesses manage exchange-rate risks.<\/p>\n<p>Small and midsize companies without an export record will be allowed to purchase import insurance, which was previously more difficult for companies focused primarily on the domestic market to obtain.\n<\/p>\n<p>Import insurance premiums will be discounted by 50% through April 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Companies facing higher costs for essential imported raw materials may also receive up to twice the normal loan-guarantee limit from the state-run Korea Trade Insurance Corp.<\/p>\n<p>The amount available under the government&#8217;s currency fluctuation insurance program will increase from 1.2 trillion won ($785 million) to 1.3 trillion won ($850 million).<\/p>\n<p>Premium discounts for small companies will double from 15% to 30%.<\/p>\n<p>Eligibility for the insurance will also expand from selected raw-material importers to companies importing nearly all categories of goods, excluding luxury products.<\/p>\n<p>The government will establish a separate 10 billion won ($6.5 million) export-voucher program for companies affected by the exchange rate.<\/p>\n<p>The maximum trade-insurance premium support available through the voucher system will temporarily double from 10 million won ($6,500) to 20 million won ($13,100).<\/p>\n<p>The government also plans to allow insurance support to be paid in advance rather than reimbursed after the insurance contract ends.<\/p>\n<p>Small companies borrowing from the Export-Import Bank of Korea will be offered a free option to convert loans between the won and foreign currencies or between two foreign currencies.<\/p>\n<p>Tax relief will be provided alongside the financing programs.<\/p>\n<p>Payment deadlines for corporate income tax, value-added tax, individual income tax and customs duties may be extended for companies experiencing exchange-rate-related financial difficulties.\n<\/p>\n<p>The government will also provide consulting to help companies reflect currency movements in agreements that link subcontracting payments to changes in raw-material costs.<\/p>\n<p>Companies that effectively operate the system may receive incentives, including exemptions from certain government-initiated investigations into subcontracting practices.<\/p>\n<p>Financial institutions will receive credit under a government evaluation index for providing assistance to small companies affected by the weak won.<\/p>\n<p>Regional export support centers will serve as one-stop contact points for companies seeking information on financing, insurance, tax relief and other assistance.<\/p>\n<p>The government said it would continue reviewing the difficulties faced by businesses and consider additional measures if needed.<\/p>\n<p><i>&#8212; Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>\u00a9 Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>Original Korean report: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asiatoday.co.kr\/kn\/view.php?key=20260703010001157\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.asiatoday.co.kr\/kn\/view.php?key=20260703010001157<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol (C), who serves concurrently as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, attends a meeting of the emergency economic headquarters at the government complex in Sejong, South Korea, 03 July 2026. Photo by YONHAP \/ EPA July 3 (Asia Today) &#8212; South Korea will provide 14.9 trillion won ($9.7&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdnph.upi.com\/sv\/ph\/og\/upi_com\/1781783129956\/2026\/1\/f570339a2dffaa03c9cf7c20bf164aa2\/v1.5\/South-Korea-offers-97B-relief-as-weak-won-hits-firms.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}