Seoul, South Korea – The South Korean government is set to inject a record 460 billion won (approximately US$345 million) into its Future Environmental Industry Development Loan program this year, aiming to foster sustainable growth in the domestic environmental industry and accelerate green transitions across businesses.

The Ministry of Environment and the Korea Environment Industry Technology Institute announced on Tuesday that the funding for this year has been increased by 40 billion won compared to last year, with the goal of providing long-term, low-interest loans to small and medium-sized environmental companies for facility installation and other business needs. As of the first quarter, interest rates are as low as 1% to 1.61%.

The total fund is divided into two main categories: 200 billion won for the environmental industry and 2600 billion won for green transitions. The environmental industry portion will be allocated to small and medium-sized enterprises for facility installation and operational capital, while the green transition portion will support the installation of greenhouse gas reduction and pollution control facilities.

To streamline support, the Ministry of Environment has consolidated various existing support programs, such as the Clean Air Conversion Facility Support Program and the Eco-friendly Equipment Investment Support Program, into the Future Environmental Industry Development Loan.

In a particular push to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to adopt low-carbon and green technologies, the government has increased the funding for the green transition sector by 600 billion won compared to last year. This includes a 400 billion won increase for pollution control facilities and a 200 billion won increase for greenhouse gas reduction facilities. To accommodate the anticipated demand for large-scale pollution control facilities, the funding limit for these facilities has been raised from 100 billion won to 300 billion won.

"We hope this support will benefit not only environmental companies facing difficulties due to the economic downturn but also all small and medium-sized enterprises preparing for green transitions," said Seo Young-tae, Director-General of the Green Transition Policy Division at the Ministry of Environment. "We will continue to expand green investment to help domestic companies grow into global leaders in the green sector, which is a future growth engine."