코로나 때 빌린 소상공인 빚 154.7조 남아…정부, 장기연체 정리 나선다

The government is launching a debt restructuring campaign targeting long-standing default debts of self-employed individuals and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the COVID-19 era. With post-pandemic domestic demand recovery lagging and interest rates on the rise, the burden of SME debt is becoming heavier. This was emphasized during the 28th Economic Policy Council meeting on the 28th, where the government unveiled the "Action Plan for Support of Vulnerable Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Amid Rising Interest Rates."

The plan was prompted by the Bank of Korea's decision to raise the benchmark interest rate to 3.0%, which could exacerbate the debt burden of vulnerable SMEs. The government considers the credit obligations accumulated during the COVID-19 period as vulnerable debt. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, out of the 35.87 trillion won in personal business loans given by banks and policy financial institutions between 2020 and 2023, 154.7 trillion won remains unpaid, with 3.1% of loans more than three months overdue, amounting to approximately 6.3 trillion won.

The government aims to actively address the debt issues of self-employed individuals and SMEs affected by the pandemic. However, the specific targets and criteria for debt restructuring have not yet been determined. Meanwhile, financial public institutions plan to dispose of long-term default debts, with the Export-Import Bank leading by burning 162 billion won in special long-term non-performing credits to small and medium-sized enterprises, including guaranteeing the debts of representatives.

Other financial public institutions will also prepare plans for disposing of long-term default debts with uncertain repayment prospects in the middle of the year. The government is also strengthening support for timely repayments, acknowledging the "reverse discrimination" issue where diligent repayments may lead to losses for borrowers.

To address this, the Export-Import Bank will implement a program from September to provide lower interest rates to companies making timely repayments. The Korea Consumer Credit Protection Corporation will also utilize repayment history information in future guarantee assessments. The government plans to expand policies for serving low-income and middle-income consumers, increasing the supply of the popular "Sunshine Loan" program from 5.09 trillion won this year to 6.02 trillion won next year.

The median loan limit for youth microfinance will also be raised from 500 million won to 1 billion won. The Bank of Korea will also participate in lowering the borrowing costs for SMEs by reforming its financial intermediary support loan program, starting next year, based on banks' performance in funding SMEs. The government will also expand the current support limit of 5.09 trillion won for SMEs and introduce dynamic adjustments to support limits and interest rates based on economic conditions.