Chang Young-jin, president of the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, said on the 15th, "We will prioritize support for small and medium-sized enterprises and provide over 100 trillion won this year, based on which we will expand the trade insurance support scale to a record high of 252 trillion won."
During a luncheon and press conference held in Sejong City, Chang noted, "We are expanding support for small and medium-sized enterprises every year under the recognition that 'the survival of small businesses ensures exports and the economy.'"
Last year, the total trade finance support scale of the Trade Insurance Corporation was 237 trillion won. The scale of trade finance support for small and medium-sized enterprises recorded 66.6 trillion won in 2021, 76.8 trillion won in 2022, 86.7 trillion won in 2023, and 97 trillion won last year.
Chang expressed, "In addition to government contributions, we will promote the involvement of banks and corporations to diversify the financial resources for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and expand preferential financing for small and medium-sized enterprises through this."
Chang also revealed plans for organizational restructuring. With the inauguration of the second Trump administration in the United States on the 20th, there are plans to establish a branch in Washington, D.C., in the first half of the year to gather real-time information on political and economic trends in the U.S. A new 'new business finance department' will also be established to focus on strategic industries such as defense. This aims to enhance the chances of domestic corporations winning overseas project contracts.
He also proposed a new 'cultural industry guarantee' product to broaden the scope of trade finance into cultural sectors, such as drama and webtoons, to support the globalization of small and medium-sized enterprises' K-culture.
Chang stated, "Due to the protracted Russia-Ukraine war, our defense demand is high, and as the issues with Westinghouse, which are a hindrance to nuclear power exports, are being resolved amicably, future exports are expected to gain momentum." He added, "We have established a new business finance department dedicated to defense and will cooperate with the government and corporations to provide support."