One week after a meeting with business leaders, Governor Kim determined to supply KRW 10 billion as an emergency fund to tenant businesses in GIC.

◇ Gyeonggi Province announced on July 8 that it would aid KRW 10 billion in Special Business Stabilization Fund to the province’s tenant businesses in Gaeseong Industrial Complex. At a meeting with representatives of companies in GIC held in Gyeonggi Provincial Office on July 1, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo is making a remark. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News Heo Seon-ryang

Gyeonggi Province announced on July 8 that it would aid KRW 10 billion in Special Business Stabilization Fund (SBSF) to the province’s firms within Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC). 

This response came in only a week after Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo pledged to review SBSF at a meeting with 17 business leaders of the province’s firms in GIC on July 1. 

At the meeting, Governor Kim heard from the representatives abouttheir difficulties, he pledged to support them with business stabilization fund, which is the most urgent, saying, “It’s like a bolt out of the blue. This is the very disaster. Gyeonggi Province will support you, if so small, with the utmost effort pursuant to Guidelines on the Support for Disaster-related Special Cases.”

Governor Kim directed responsible public officials to adequately resolve various issues raised by the representatives such as return of raw materials and products from Gaeseong, delay in tax collection, unemployed workers, expansion of production facilities within the province, regulations relaxation including floor area ratio of factories, continuous electricity supply to the complex, and tax investigation. 

Following this order, he requested to form a task force led by the new Vice-Governor for Economy Affairs as a team leader,and hear difficulties facing companies operating there on a regular to know what the province should do for them. He also asked, “Make every effort to solve urgent problems to bring mutual benefit at the working level.”

◇ Governor Kim is listening attentively to one representative of tenant businesses in the complex. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News Heo Seon-ryang

With Special Business Stabilization Fund, each company can be aided up to KRW 2 billion including KRW 500 million as a working fund and KRW 1.5 billion as a facilities fund.  

The tenant business are allowed to take out a loan  payable in three years with a one-year grace period  at a fixed interest rate of 3.0% for a working fund, and eight years with a three-year grace period at a variable interest rate of 2.94% for a facilities fund.   

One official at Enterprise Policy Team of Gyeonggi Province said,“The interest of the fund is slightly higher than that of other government-aided funds. However, compared to a one-year maturity of government funds, the Gyeonggi provincial funds have longer maturity, three year for a working fund and eight year for a facilities fund. Therefore, companies can apply for the loan considering their own circumstances.”      

On July 1, Gyeonggi Province commented that the interest rate of SBSF lowered from the existing 4% to 3% after the province accepted the request to adjust the rate to that of disaster response fund from the tenant businesses.

SBSF for the tenant businesses in GIC will be operated by the end of this year, and Nonghyup Bank branches grant loans to them via local offices of Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation in cities and counties by contacting at 1577-5900. 

After Gyeonggi Province made calls to companies which did not attend the meeting and filed a total of 45 difficulties and 26 suggestions from them, it also responded to some of those  suggestions such as supporting construction permits for newly or additionally building alternative factories and extending payment due date for corporates’ allocated local tax. In addition, the province made proposals to the central government about relieving companies without Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Insurance and supplying electricity continuously. 

Currently, the province plans to form a task force led by Vice-Governor for Economy Affairs and give full support to the tenant businesses by helping them find factory sites or lease factory buildings, offering jobs to the unemployed, and supporting worker recruitment. 

◇ At the meeting on July 1, one of the representatives is on the verge of tears while talking about difficulties in his company. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News Heo Seon-ryang

ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News | Park Gwan-sik  malbut@kg21.net 

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