Public Home Shopping set up a 30 billion won win-win fund and Win-Win Plus Fund to support small business owners, but it was confirmed that for more than two years the execution rate failed to exceed 20%.
According to data titled "Status of win-win fund financial support" submitted by Public Home Shopping to People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-bae of the Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee (Chungju), the cumulative amount executed by the two funds from the first half of 2023 through June this year was only 5.29 billion won (execution rate 17.6%).
In Aug. 2022, Public Home Shopping signed a win-win fund agreement with IBK Industrial Bank and created a 30 billion won win-win fund by depositing 20 billion won interest free. The following year, it also created the Win-Win Plus Fund for small business owners. Both are funds to provide financial support to small and medium-sized suppliers to Public Home Shopping. If selected as eligible for support, they can obtain loans at rates lower than market interest rates.
At the time of the agreement, Public Home Shopping said, "As a public agency TV home shopping company, we established and pushed the win-win fund policy to build the value of coexistence and pursue continuous co-growth," and added, "We will continue to expand practical support that small and medium-sized enterprises can feel and establish ourselves as a public agency home shopping company that realizes co-growth."
It touts support for small business owners, but even after two years since launch, the results are insufficient, Lee Jong-bae noted.
Looking at the execution details of the win-win fund for small and medium-sized corporations, in the first half of 2023, 1.75 billion won was executed to 10 corporations; in the second half, 560 million won to three corporations; and in the first half of 2024, 860 million won to five corporations. In the second half of 2024, there was not a single loan. In the first half of this year, 570 million won was executed to three corporations. From the first half of 2023 to the first half of this year, the cumulative amount executed was only 3.74 billion won to 21 corporations.
Execution performance is also weak for the Win-Win Plus Fund for small business owners. When it was first implemented in the second half of 2023, 15 were recommended, but the final selection was two, with 350 million won executed. In the first half of 2024, 740 million won was executed to six, and in the second half, 60 million won to one. This year, in the first quarter, loans of 400 million won were made to two, and in the second quarter, there was no execution performance. The cumulative amount executed is 1.55 billion won to 11.
From the first half of 2023 through June this year, the cumulative amount executed by the two funds was only 5.29 billion won, and the remaining balance amounts to 26.48 billion won. Of the 30 billion won fund, 88% remains unexecuted.
Lawmaker Lee Jong-bae criticized that as the economy slows, difficulties for small business owners are growing, yet the win-win fund intended to help them is not fulfilling its role. Lee said, "The application procedures are complicated, and the dual screening structure of Public Home Shopping and IBK Industrial Bank is acting as a barrier to entry for support," and added, "For the win-win fund to fulfill its role, it is essential to ease loan thresholds and strengthen publicity. It needs to be converted from a justification-oriented policy to a practical support system."