On the 23rd, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation announced that it will implement a special guarantee for certification and verification-type research and development to promote commercialization of research and development (R&D) for small and medium-sized enterprises.
This special guarantee was introduced to support small and medium-sized enterprises selected for the 'certification and verification achievement project' under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ 'Small Business Technology Innovation Development Project' to successfully complete their research and development projects and promote subsequent commercialization.
The 'certification and verification achievement project' is a program in which corporations first conduct research and development aimed at achieving objective certification and verification using their own funds, and the government compensates the research and development costs in contributions based on the results. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will select 45 certification and verification-type R&D projects to support this year.
The Korea Technology Finance Corporation supports up to 300 million won in special guarantees for small and medium-sized enterprises carrying out the project, within 50% of the government-supported research and development costs. It also provides preferential benefits such as an increased guarantee rate (100%) and a reduction in guarantee fees (up to 1 percentage point). Additionally, corporations that receive a successful certification and verification judgment will be linked to support for subsequent commercialization funds of up to 3 billion won.
The Korea Technology Finance Corporation also reduces the financial burden on corporations through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Agency and IBK Industrial Bank to expand small and medium-sized enterprise R&D. The agency will select project-performing corporations and expand the advance payment contributions ratio to 50%, and the banks will waive early repayment fees.