The government has decided to expand the scale of trade finance supply from 360 trillion won to 366 trillion won this year. This is to proactively respond to the damage to domestic corporations caused by uncertainties such as the tariff policy of the new U.S. government. Support for returning corporations has been strengthened, including temporarily increasing the 'investment subsidy rate for domestic business sites of returning corporations' by 10 percentage points.
On the 18th, the government held an export strategy meeting and announced the '2025 inter-agency emergency export measures' containing this information. A government official noted, "This year, given the various policies, including tariffs, coming from the new U.S. government, there is a great deal of uncertainty regarding the overall export outlook," and explained the background for developing countermeasures by stating, "The government aims to find measures that fit the trade environment in accordance with the situation by holding the export strategy meeting."
The government has first established a 'tariff response package' to ensure timely responses when tariff damage occurs. Specifically, it will introduce export vouchers to analyze and respond to tariff damage in collaboration with local law firms and consulting firms through 20 trade office help desks. The plan is to prioritize support for export vouchers for small and medium-sized enterprises that have suffered tariff damage.
Trade insurance has also been significantly strengthened. The trade insurance limit for affected corporations will be doubled, and for small and medium-sized enterprises, short-term export insurance premiums will be discounted by 60% up to the first half of the year.
In response to tariffs, the government will support guarantees without collateral of up to 2 trillion won when corporations transferring their production facilities abroad receive loans from foreign investors. Also, the government will provide preferential guarantees of 200 billion won for overseas investment and manufacturing funds for collaborating suppliers with large corporations this year.
For returning corporations that inevitably come back to Korea due to tariff damage, the conditions will be eased to allow for tax reduction benefits before completing the 'reduction of overseas business activities.' Previously, companies had to reduce overseas business activities by 20% or more in sales before returning to receive the benefits. Until next year, 'restructuring of overseas business sites' will be exempt from the subsidy conditions for returning corporations affected by tariffs.
The subsidy support rate for domestic business investment by returning corporations, including land purchase costs, will be increased by 10 percentage points. Currently, the subsidy support rates by industry are 21% for general sectors, 23% for preferential sectors, 44% for supply chain sectors, and 45% for advanced sectors. Accordingly, these will be raised to 31%, 33%, 54%, and 55% respectively.
An integrated consulting window will also be established to quickly inform domestic corporations about the impact of U.S. tariff policies. Specialized consultations will be provided by the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Comprehensive Support Center, the Korea International Trade Association's Trade Legal Support Team, and the overseas trade office help desks, focusing on areas such as origin, import regulations, and returning corporations.
The government has also prepared a trade finance package. In particular, it will provide trade finance at 366 trillion won this year, the largest amount ever. This is an increase of 6 trillion won from the previously announced scale (360 trillion won) during the announcement of '2025 Economic Policy Direction' earlier this year.
A total of 100 trillion won in trade insurance will be supplied to small and medium-sized enterprises. Until the first half of this year, 50% of the insurance and guarantee premiums for trade insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises will be uniformly discounted, and 35,000 small businesses exporting less than $1 million will receive a special discount of 90% on their premiums.
Starting next month, support will be strengthened for export rookie companies with low export records and companies experiencing a sudden increase in exports, allowing them to secure sufficient export funds. The government plans to set the support limit based on the future growth assessment rather than the past export and financial performance of these companies, and raise the maximum loan guarantee limit per corporation twofold.
Trade insurance specialized in foreign exchange risk has also been significantly expanded to 8.5 trillion won. Specifically, the loan guarantee for the import funds of core raw materials has increased to 4 trillion won. All items except luxury goods are eligible for support. The guarantee limit will be increased twofold by June. Foreign exchange insurance has also doubled to 3 trillion won compared to last year. Until June, the limit will be preferentially raised by 1.5 times, and the insurance premium will be discounted by 30%.
Additionally, the government will support the diversification of export markets centered on the Global South through an alternative market entry package. Plans are to supply 55 trillion won in trade insurance related to the Global South. The insurance limit for high-quality importers will be tripled, while the limit for low-credit importers will be adjusted from $200,000 to $500,000. Temporary special support for export insurance will be provided for small and medium-sized enterprises that conclude export contracts with countries in need of reconstruction, such as Ukraine.
The government has also started addressing key obstacles faced by export corporations. It plans to support marketing with a record size of 1.2 trillion won, with plans to execute more than 70% of this in the first half of the year.
A government official noted, "In the semiconductor industry, there has been frequent movement of prototypes between bonded factories and research departments, and during that process, customs clearance had to be done individually," adding, "We plan to simplify the import and export procedures for these goods and uncover industry-specific challenges to provide support."