Jang Seung-jun, Chairman of the Credit Guarantee Fund, supports enterprises in overcoming crises by strengthening the role of policy finance

Chairman Kang Seung-jun of the Credit Guarantee Fund said on the 13th that, amid growing external uncertainties, the fund will strengthen the fundamental role of policy finance, providing support to overcome corporate crises and to ensure the sustainable development of our national economy.

Analyzing at a press briefing held at the Daegu headquarters that same day, Chairman Kang pointed out that, in recent times, due to factors such as the situation in Iran, unsettling elements in the external environment have spread in all directions, and the operating burdens on domestic companies have also increased. He explained that it will use the 50th anniversary of the Credit Guarantee Fund’s establishment as an opportunity to deliver policy finance more precisely to the companies and industries that truly need it, expanding the channeling role of corporate finance. This has been interpreted as building a more comprehensive financial transmission system so that companies with funding needs can receive guarantees and support in a timely manner.

The Credit Guarantee Fund has integrated this direction into a support system called “Pipeline.” This covers productive finance that supports cutting-edge industries, inclusive finance that expands the corporate operations safety net, demand-centered finance, and concepts for tackling a sustainable future and climate crises. In particular, for companies in advanced industrial park zones such as AI·biotech·content·defense·energy·manufacturing (ABCDEEF), the fund will provide guarantees of up to 200 billion won to help new growth industries raise financing. In addition, if the situation in the Middle East worsens and companies are damaged as a result, plans are in place to immediately include that company among the special guarantee targets for crisis response, so that emergency liquidity support can be provided.

Chairman Kang also emphasized the Credit Guarantee Fund’s contribution to the region. He said that after relocating the headquarters to Daegu, it has maintained a target ratio of 30% for hiring local talent, and among employees working at the headquarters, 35.3% live in Daegu. In addition, it has promoted a range of regional social contribution activities, highlighting that the relocation of public institutions is not just a simple physical move, but also plays a certain role in expanding the region’s economic and employment base.

Founded in 1976, the Credit Guarantee Fund initially provided general guarantees of a scale of 160 billion won for just 12,000 companies, but it has now developed into an organization providing guarantees to 350,000 companies (77 trillion won) and offering insurance of 22 trillion won. On June 1, on the Credit Guarantee Fund’s 50th anniversary, Creedium, an education and publicity hall, will be opened on the first floor of the headquarters. This space, made up of a history hall, a publicity hall, an imaging/video hall, a museum café, and more, will serve as a venue to introduce the role played by the Credit Guarantee Fund in every economic crisis and the institutional changes it has undergone. This development trend suggests that if external shocks continue in the future, policy financial institutions will go beyond simply providing guarantee functions, serving as a core buffering mechanism for industrial transformation and crisis response, and further expanding the scope of their influence.