As heavy rain poured down across the country, causing damages, financial authorities have established an emergency response team for flood damage and decided to provide emergency stabilization funds to households and small businesses.
The Financial Services Commission announced a financial support plan for flood-affected households, small business owners, and small- and medium-sized enterprises on the 18th. This assistance will involve collaboration from all sectors of the financial industry, including banks, insurance companies, credit card companies, and mutual finance.
Banks and mutual financial sectors will provide emergency living funds to customers affected by flood damage. NongHyup Bank plans to lend up to 100 million won in emergency living stabilization funds to affected customers. Hana Bank will provide up to 50 million won, while the Industrial Bank of Korea will support up to 30 million won. Loan interest rates and limits can be confirmed through each financial institution or sector association.
Extension of existing loan maturities, grace periods for repayments, and partitioning repayment options will also be supported. Shinhan Bank and KB Kookmin Bank will offer preferential interest rates of up to 1.5 percentage points and support for maturity extensions and waivers of overdue interest.
Insurance companies plan to prioritize assessing claims from flood-affected customers to provide insurance payouts promptly. By issuing damage verification documents, they will offer early payments within the range of 50% of estimated insurance payouts, even before completing damage investigations. Additionally, they plan to extend the payment obligation for flood-affected customers' insurance premiums for up to six months.
Credit card companies have decided to allow a maximum postponement of credit card payment due dates for flood-affected customers for six months. Some card issuers will additionally support partitioning repayment (Shinhan, Hyundai), waiving late fees incurred after flood damage (KB Kookmin, Hyundai, Woori), and delaying collection of overdue amounts (Lotte, Woori, Hana, Hyundai) after the payment postponement ends.
Individuals affected by flood damage who are in arrears on their debts can apply for special debt adjustments through the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service (CCRS) and receive benefits such as up to one year of interest-free repayment extensions and fixed debt reduction (70%).
A financial support plan for flood-affected small business owners and small- and medium-sized enterprises has also been prepared. Banks will provide restoration funds and emergency operation funds to affected companies and small business owners, while the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT) will offer special guarantees when affected enterprises, small business owners, or farmers apply for restoration loan support from the financial sector. Additionally, they will support loan maturity extensions and grace periods for repayments for up to one year for affected companies and small business owners.
The Financial Supervisory Service plans to establish counseling centers in each region to provide tailored on-site counseling services. In regions severely affected by floods, they will deploy financial counseling personnel to facilitate prompt financial assistance.