Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said on the 5th that the government will launch "productive finance" in earnest to shift the flow of funds toward advanced strategic industries, ventures and startups, and the capital market.
Deputy Prime Minister Koo said at the "pan-finance New Year's gathering" held at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, on the afternoon of the same day that 2026 should be the first year in which the Korean economy makes a great leap forward by rebounding its potential growth rate and overcoming polarization, adding that the role of finance is more important than ever.
He then presented as the policy directions the government will focus on this year: ▲ expanding productive finance ▲ achieving shared growth through finance ▲ strengthening risk management.
Deputy Prime Minister Koo said the government will begin supplying the Public Growth Fund at an annual scale of 30 trillion won to invest in new industries including artificial intelligence (AI), and will strengthen tax incentives for venture and innovation capital such as business development companies (BDC) and the KOSDAQ venture fund.
He added, We will expand tax benefits for long-term investment in domestic stocks and implement low-rate separate taxation on dividends income, and we will also promptly announce the roadmap for inclusion in the MSCI developed markets index. He continued, We will also step up efforts to establish a fair market order, including eradicating stock price manipulation.
The government will also actively push for shared growth through finance. Deputy Prime Minister Koo said the government will spread win-win finance programs to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and venture corporations, and will invigorate social solidarity finance for cooperatives and social enterprises, adding that it will also expand low-interest policy finance for low-income people, including a pilot launch of a 4.5% Smile Finance product for young people.
He also cited risk management as a key task. Deputy Prime Minister Koo said the government will closely monitor the financial and foreign exchange markets and make all-out efforts to resolve structural supply-demand imbalances in the FX market, adding that it will continue to strengthen the trend of stabilizing household debt on a downward path.