- KRW 165 billion in support, with up to KRW 1 billion per company and a shared 1.9% interest subsidy -

Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok) announced that it signed an MOU with Hana Bank and Incheon Technopark for the 2026 Incheon Special Business Stability Fund Support Project on March 23 at Incheon City Hall. The MOU is designed to ease the financial burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing growing difficulty in securing funds amid the prolonged economic downturn.

Incheon moved forward with the MOU to support local SMEs amid rising uncertainty at home and abroad, as funding became harder to secure under high interest rates. Reflecting strong demand from businesses struggling with high borrowing costs, Incheon plans to strengthen the foundation for stable business operations through a joint support model that combines financial institution contributions with interest rate assistance.

Incheon has continued to support working capital loans for SMEs through its Business Stability Fund Project. Since 2023, the city has also expanded support through partnerships with commercial banks.

Under the MOU, Hana Bank will contribute KRW 990 million to Incheon Technopark for an interest subsidy project, supporting Incheon-based SMEs affected by the economic slowdown.

Incheon will add city funding to Hana Bank’s contribution, then officially launch the 2026 Incheon Special Business Stability Fund Support Project through a public notice in April.

The project will be carried out through a cooperative lending arrangement with Hana Bank, with the total support amounting to KRW 165 billion. Each company may apply for up to KRW 1 billion, with repayment set as a lump sum at the end of a one-year term. Under the interest subsidy plan, Incheon will cover 1.3% and Hana Bank 0.6%, bringing the total to 1.9%.

Eligible applicants are SMEs that operate factories in Incheon or run manufacturing-related businesses, provided they can obtain a loan from Hana Bank. Other support conditions and detailed limits will remain the same as those set out in Incheon’s 2026 SME Support Project notice.

Companies interested in applying should first check loan eligibility through Hana Bank. Once the notice is released in April, applications can be submitted online through BizOK, Incheon’s specialized SME support system (http://bizok.incheon.go.kr). The notice will be available on the Public Notice section of the Incheon Metropolitan City website and on BizOK. Inquiries can be directed to the Management Support Center at Incheon Technopark (+82-32-260-0661 to 0664).

Lee Nam-joo, Director General of the Future Industry Bureau, stated, “We appreciate Hana Bank’s decision to make a special contribution to help ease the financial burden on local SMEs. Incheon will continue to identify a wider range of financial support measures, helping strengthen business stability and growth for SMEs in the region.”