The South Korean government, in collaboration with SK Hynix and four prominent commercial banks, has unveiled a mutually beneficial trade financing program valued at KRW 2 trillion, aimed at bolstering semiconductor suppliers. On the 19th, the stakeholders formally inked a cooperation pact at the SK Hynix semiconductor industrial hub in Yongin City. This initiative represents the most extensive single-enterprise collaboration since the inception of South Korea's export supply chain guarantee scheme.

Through a multi-party shared guarantee mechanism, suppliers endorsed by SK Hynix are entitled to loan interest rate cuts of up to 2.5 percentage points. Moreover, the guarantee ratio has been elevated to 100%, the loan term extended to three years, and banks have agreed to absorb all guarantee fees. The guarantee ceiling is also set 50% higher compared to other sectors. These strategies are designed to slash suppliers' financing expenses and capitalize on the chip industry's surge to spur upstream and downstream SMEs to ramp up production investments and intensify R&D efforts.

At present, the cumulative symbiotic trade financing across all sectors in South Korea has soared to KRW 4.4 trillion. South Korea envisions expanding semiconductor sector financing to a minimum of KRW 5 trillion and broadening the program's reach to encompass multiple fields, with the aspiration of surpassing a total scale of KRW 10 trillion this year. Furthermore, supplementary measures including product testing and validation, R&D assistance, the creation of a semiconductor fund, and talent nurturing will be rolled out to collectively construct a symbiotic growth ecosystem for the chip industry.