Overview

• The Trade Ministry announced up to 570 billion won in emergency financing this year for steel and aluminum firms, including special low-interest loans and interest support for existing SME borrowing.
• Trade insurance capacity increases to 270 trillion won in 2025, with companies getting wider access to a 13.6 trillion-won emergency liquidity fund set up earlier this year.
• Major lenders pledged more than 267 trillion won in support through next year, including 95 trillion won from the five financial groups and 172 trillion won from state-run banks, following a regulator-led meeting.
• Regulators are preparing a 1 trillion-won restructuring fund for stressed sectors and expanding crisis lending through KDB and Eximbank, with broader eligibility and rate cuts of up to 2 percentage points.
• Seoul is developing demand-side measures expected to include EV and high-efficiency appliance subsidies and a proposed 100 trillion-won investment push, against a backdrop of U.S. tariffs cut to 15 percent for many goods but still reaching up to 50 percent on hundreds of items.