On the 2nd, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups held its sixth meeting under the theme of "Recovery and Reinforcement of Safety Nets for Small Businesses" at the Small Enterprise & Market Service (SEMAS) training center in Daejeon. The meeting focused on strengthening the response system for crisis indicators among small businesses and the direction for introducing alternative evaluation models.
First, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to proactively identify and support small businesses in crisis by expanding the existing "artificial intelligence (AI) voice bot" and "early warning system" starting in the first half of 2026.
Currently, the AI voice bot provides services such as notifying delinquency statuses, issuing virtual accounts, and introducing support programs for business rehabilitation and debt adjustment to those who are behind on payments. The early warning system monitors the credit score fluctuations of borrowers receiving direct loans from policy funds in real time, verifying the operational status of small businesses at risk of insolvency.
In the future, these functions will be operated in a phased and integrated manner targeting small businesses with crisis indicators. The AI voice bot will provide tailored support policies not only to borrowers in arrears but also to small businesses identified as at risk of insolvency, compiling relevant information such as loan histories of borrowers in arrears for over 31 days and changes in sales.
For these businesses, in-depth consultations will be conducted on management difficulties such as repayment challenges, risks of business closure, and levels of debt through a survey. The Ministry will also mandate pre-management diagnoses for small businesses with low and medium credit scores, providing one-on-one coaching and support for business rehabilitation based on the results.
Additionally, regional credit guarantee foundations plan to pilot the use of credit agency (NICE, KCB) data starting next year to assess and provide capacity-building training for small businesses with crisis indicators, supporting them in stages through stabilization, diagnosis, capacity strengthening, and financial assistance.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will also introduce a "small business alternative evaluation model" utilizing sales data from credit card companies as a pilot in special management stabilization funds starting in the first quarter of 2026. This will reduce the time required for loan execution from 28 days to 21 days, allowing new entrepreneurs or small businesses that have not reported sales data to receive prompt support without the need for on-site inspections.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced key improvements regarding suggestions from the fifth meeting. In response to the need to enhance promotion of the self-employed workers' insurance system, the Ministry will strengthen promotion through direct communication methods such as on-site training and briefings for small businesses, along with online promotion via media, radio, and social media (SNS).