The Second Implementation of '5 Trillion Won Social Contribution Over 5 Years'… Filling Financial Blind Spots with Collateral-Free, Guarantor-Free, Low-Interest Loans of 4.5% Per Annum or Lower
Samsung Electronics Contributes 150 Billion Won and Financial Affiliates Jointly Contribute 50 Billion Won… "Sharing the Fruits of Growth with Society"
Samsung is raising a total of 200 billion won in inclusive finance funds to help the economic independence of financially vulnerable groups and small business owners. Samsung announced on the 16th that it will contribute a total of 200 billion won to the Samsung Miso Financial Foundation to expand inclusive finance. Of this, Samsung Electronics will bear 150 billion won, and financial affiliates that operate the Samsung Miso Financial Foundation, such as Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Samsung Card, and Samsung Securities, will jointly contribute the remaining 50 billion won. This contribution is drawing attention from inside and outside the business community as it embodies the commitment to pool group-level capabilities to lay the foundation for the independence of the financially underprivileged, going beyond a simple one-off donation.
This decision is also highly significant in that it is a follow-up measure to the '5 trillion won social contribution over 5 years' promise announced by the management executives right after the final conclusion of wage and collective agreements between Samsung Electronics labor and management. At the time, Samsung Electronics management executives expressed their stance to further strengthen social responsibility so that Samsung's growth and performance can create a virtuous cycle not only for executives and employees but for society as a whole. Subsequently, following the 'Samsung Electronics Appreciation Festival' worth about 400 billion won, which refunded a portion of purchase amounts in Onnuri gift certificates to revitalize domestic demand and support the self-employed, this inclusive finance contribution has been materialized as the second project. This is evaluated as expanding the scope of social contribution into a sustainable win-win program rather than staying at one-off support.
What is Inclusive Finance… A 'Financial Ladder' for Ordinary People Placed in High-Interest Blind Spots
Inclusive finance is a system that enhances financial accessibility for ordinary people and vulnerable groups who find it difficult to use mainstream financial services due to low credit or income levels. Its purpose is to lower the burden of high interest rates, support the economic restart of debtors, and strengthen the social responsibility of financial companies. For small business owners who have difficulty securing collateral or guarantors, they are easily driven to illegal private finance or high-interest loans when urgent funds are needed. Systematically supplying low-interest funds can be expected to serve as a safety valve to block these risks in advance.
As the government is also promoting major tasks of inclusive finance such as lowering interest rates on microfinance products, revitalizing self-regulatory debt adjustments in the financial sector, and blocking illegal private finance, Samsung's contribution as the largest private business group is interpreted as an example where policy direction and the implementation of private social responsibility align. At a time when social demands are growing to share corporate excess profits with society as a whole, including partner companies and vulnerable groups, amid improving performance driven by the semiconductor industry recovery, Samsung's expansion of social return activities based on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management and a win-win philosophy is also positively evaluated.
Roots of the Miso Financial System and Samsung's Role
Among these, the Samsung Miso Financial Foundation was launched in December 2009, right after the introduction of the system, and has been operated in a form where Samsung affiliates participate jointly. It is characterized by having a product lineup that encompasses a wide range of classes, from prospective business operators preparing for startups to self-employed individuals already operating business sites, as well as the younger generation and socially vulnerable groups. As the foundation's support capacity is substantially expanded with this 200 billion won contribution, it is expected that benefits can reach more ordinary people and small-business owners who could not be reached previously due to limited financial resources.
Collateral-Free, Guarantor-Free, Low-Interest Rate of 4.5% Per Annum or Lower… Expected to Benefit About 40,000 People
The 200 billion won fund raised this time will be utilized through the Samsung Miso Financial Foundation to support business operation funds, startup funds, and emergency living funds for financially vulnerable groups and small business owners. Loans will be provided in a collateral-free, guarantor-free manner that does not require collateral or guarantors, identical to the operation method of the existing Samsung Miso Financial Foundation. The interest rate is scheduled to be set at a low level of 4.5% per annum or lower, which is expected to significantly ease the interest burden of ordinary people who have depended on commercial high-interest loans. Samsung expects that about 40,000 people will receive financial support benefits through this contribution.
The Samsung Miso Financial Foundation, launched in December 2009, is a Samsung-affiliated microcredit foundation that has been in charge of one axis of microfinance support for nearly 17 years, operating various products such as startup lease funds, early startup operation and facility funds, operating funds, and youth-targeted funds. A Samsung official stated the intent to support the economic independence and stable lives of vulnerable groups through the expansion of financial support, and to continue to expand inclusive finance and win-win activities to contribute to the sustainable growth of our society.
The interest rate operation method is also designed to be beneficiary-friendly. Miso Financial loans cap the interest rate at within 4.5% per annum, but allow interest rates to be differentially applied down to the 2% per annum range depending on the loan product, and a grace period of within 1 year can be operated flexibly. This helps to stabilize businesses by minimizing the repayment burden during the sales vacuum period of early startup or temporary capital crunch phases. Given that it is a competitive condition compared to commercial bank credit loans as well as policy microfinance products, it is evaluated as a system worth actively considering for ordinary people and small-business owners who meet the qualification requirements.
Who is Eligible… Application Qualification Requirements
Since Miso Financial targets the financially underprivileged who have the will for self-reliance but find it difficult to use mainstream financial institutions, applicants must meet certain qualification requirements. Generally, if an individual is a low-credit holder whose personal credit rating falls in the bottom 20%, or a low-income earner below the basic livelihood recipient or second-tier poverty bracket, they can look into the basic application requirements. As of 2026, the bottom 20% criteria by credit rating agency are guided as NICE 749 points or lower, and KCB 700 points or lower. However, use may be restricted for minors and cases where credit judgment information such as defaults or public information is registered on the credit information computer network.
Detailed requirements also differ by fund purpose. Startup lease funds are provided to prospective business operators within a certain limit of the lease deposit; early startup operation and facility funds target business operators whose business registration is less than 6 months old; and general operating funds are provided to self-employed individuals who have been operating a business for 6 months or more after business registration under their own name. In addition, products for young self-employed people aged 19 to 34, loan completers, sincere repayers, and socially vulnerable groups requiring funds for specific purposes such as housing, medical, or education expenses are operated, providing a wide range of choices to select products matching their situations. It should be noted that even if application qualifications are met, loans are ultimately executed only after passing screenings reviewing the appropriateness of fund usage and repayment possibility.
How to Apply… From Consultation Reservation to Loan Execution
The application procedure proceeds through the stages of consultation, education, and screening. First, applicants can check whether they fall under the support target and reserve a consultation through the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency application, official website, or the Inclusive Finance Call Center (1397 without an area code), and direct visits for face-to-face consultation at nearby Miso Financial branches are also possible. Detailed inquiries regarding products supported by the Samsung Miso Financial Foundation can be guided through nationwide Samsung Miso Financial Foundation branches.
Once confirmed as an application target through consultation, applicants must complete mandatory education according to the fund purpose. For startup funds, it is a method of completing a certain number of hours or more of startup education, and for operation and facility funds, completing management education, and then submitting completion certificates and related documents. Afterward, foundation screeners visit the planned business site or currently operated business site to conduct on-site inspections to check the appropriateness and feasibility of the business. Once passing the screening, the process leads to the disbursement of loan funds after executing an agreement. Since there are precautions such as having to use existing loans normally without default and the restriction of duplicate support among loan types, it is desirable to thoroughly check one's conditions and necessary documents through branch consultation before applying.
In addition, when applying for startup funds or operating funds, they are often linked to professional consulting or prescribed education courses of small business support institutions, which is cited as another advantage of the Miso Financial system in that it can be utilized as an opportunity to review the validity of business plans and supplement management capabilities, rather than just lending money. This is because a structure combining financial support, education, and consulting works as a device to reduce loan defaults while increasing the actual self-reliance possibility of beneficiaries.
A Drop of Rain in the Drought for Small Business and Ordinary Economies… What are the Expected Effects?
The reason this contribution is drawing particular attention is not unrelated to the business environment recently facing small business owners and the self-employed. At a time when the financial situation of small business owners is not easy due to the accumulated loan interest burden and delayed domestic demand recovery during the prolonged high-interest rate stance, supplying low-interest funds of 4.5% per annum or lower with no collateral and guarantors is a measure that can provide practical breathing room to business operators facing immediate financial distress. In particular, for those who could not cross bank thresholds due to low credit scores and were pushed to savings banks, private lending, or in severe cases, illegal private finance, this broadens the passage to return to legal and safe mainstream finance.
The beneficiary scale of about 40,000 people is also a point to watch. Converted to the average support amount per person, it may be considered a small amount. However, considering that the essence of Miso Financial is 'priming water finance' that helps overcome moments of crisis and lay the stepping stone for a restart rather than a large amount of investment capital, giving 40,000 ordinary people and small business owners the opportunity to rise again in their respective living fields holds social value beyond statistical figures. This is because the changes of each and every youth opening a store with startup funds, breadwinners overcoming crises with emergency living funds, and self-employed people protecting their businesses with operating funds can gather to lead to vitality for the local economy and the ordinary economy overall.
Practice of ESG Management… Will It Lead to 'Sustainable Win-Win'?
This 200 billion won contribution is of no small significance in that it is an example where Samsung's emphasized ESG management and social responsibility led to concrete execution. In a reality where corporate social contributions often stop at one-off donations or events, Samsung is sequentially fulfilling its promise of '5 trillion won social contribution over 5 years' by expanding the area of support to inclusive finance that helps the independence of vulnerable financial classes, following the stimulation of domestic demand through Onnuri gift certificate refunds. In particular, the fact that this support is not simple cash-like support, but self-reliance-type financial support backing up startups, business operation, and economic restart, raises expectations that it can create a virtuous cycle structure of social performance by helping beneficiaries stand on their own feet using the support as a stepping stone.
At a time when difficulties for small business owners and ordinary households continue due to high inflation and sluggish domestic demand, the fact that Korea's representative company gathered group-level resources to step up to fill financial blind spots carries a great message to our society in itself, which is worth noting. Attention is focused on future moves to see if Samsung's expansion of inclusive finance can lead to the spread of win-win management by other companies, and further establish itself as a solid safety net where the private sector and government together support the independence of the financially underprivileged.
In the business community, interpretations are also emerging that this contribution is an example showing the evolution of Samsung's social contribution method. While past corporate social contributions centered on donation delivery or volunteer activities, recently the center of gravity is moving toward changing the structure of social problem solving itself by utilizing the capital, network, and operational capabilities possessed by companies. This is because stimulating consumption through Onnuri gift certificate refunds and supporting independence through Miso Financial share the commonality of being designed so that support effects spread within the market mediated by the economic activities of beneficiaries. This is why expectations are growing regarding in which areas and in what ways the remaining resources of the promise of 5 trillion won over 5 years will be executed in the future.
Among experts, a perspective is also raised that Samsung's contribution can serve as a positive stimulus to the overall microfinance ecosystem, given that policy effects are multiplied when resources raised by private companies operate complementarily with the government's microfinance policies. If a structure is established where private voluntary participation fills financial blind spots that are difficult for government finances alone to handle, the buffer capacity of the entire society against microfinance difficulties repeated every economic fluctuation period can become substantially thicker. In this regard, this contribution of 200 billion won is recorded as a meaningful step testing the possibility of a win-win model where companies and society grow together, beyond the social contribution of a single company, Samsung.