The government has decided to supply 1.3 trillion won in funds to promising venture and small and medium-sized enterprises to leap forward as a future advanced industrial country in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), K-culture, and bio. It will also invest 200 billion won to support the AI transition in six key sectors, including bio, culture, and cybersecurity.
On the 19th, the government held a Cabinet meeting and noted that it had reviewed and approved the supplementary budget proposal for the second supplementary budget of 2025.
First, it will invest 800 billion won of national funds to support a total of 1.3 trillion won in funds for promising venture and small and medium-sized enterprises. The government plans to contribute 585 billion won to the fund of funds to foster startups in emerging industries such as AI and cultural content, expecting to induce about 1.1 trillion won in private investment.
Additionally, low-interest policy loans will be provided to early-stage startups. For facilities and operating capital, loans of up to 6 billion won per corporation will be supported at an interest rate of around 2% per year, for which 200 billion won will be injected.
The startup package to support the stable growth of initial companies in emerging industries will also be expanded. The government plans to invest 42 billion won to provide commercialization funds and startup programs at pre-startup, initial, and growth stages. The number of targeted corporations will increase from 1,611 to 2,015. The number of excellent corporations benefiting from specialized support will also expand from 90 to 210, with 12 billion won allocated for the program.
The government will invest a total of 300 billion won to expand investments in AI and renewable energy sectors, which are major promises made by President Yoon. In the AI sector, 171.5 billion won will be allocated for the AI transition in six industrial sectors. In the public sector, AI application and diffusion will be led, and customized AI for regional key industries will be provided and disseminated through collaboration between local governments and corporations. Specialized projects will also be promoted in the four sectors of cybersecurity, culture, manufacturing, and bio.
To create successful cases of industrial AI by sector, 12.8 billion won will be newly allocated for an industrial AI solution demonstration and diffusion support project, accelerating the formation of the industrial AI ecosystem. Additionally, 2.2 billion won will be newly allocated for the development of an AI and robot-based autonomous pharmaceutical manufacturing system.
In terms of building AI infrastructure, 30 billion won will be supported for the early commercialization of domestic NPU (neural processing unit). A total of 20 corporations will receive support of 1 billion to 2 billion won per corporation for tailored design and design IP utilization expenses.
An additional 111.8 billion won has been allocated for responding to the climate crisis. The budget for supplying solar power to dwellings and buildings will be expanded, and loans for solar production and facility funds will also be increased. For solar power used for power generation projects, up to 80% of installation costs will be supported through loans at an interest rate of 1.75%, and for the installation of self-consumption solar power in dwellings and buildings, 40% of the installation costs will be subsidized.
An additional 1 billion won will be invested in research and development (R&D) for next-generation solar cell demonstration projects to actively support technology development. Furthermore, 10 billion won will be additionally allocated to Korea University of Energy and Technology to cultivate core talent that will lead the energy industry.
To enhance export competitiveness, a project to support the export industrialization of promising items such as electrical equipment will be newly established, and marketing for finding alternative markets and Korean Wave fairs will be strengthened.
To support domestic electrical equipment corporations in entering overseas markets, 15 billion won will be newly allocated to facilitate low-interest funding for expanding production facilities, developing and demonstrating new products. This is based on the expectation of increased demand for electrical materials such as wires and transformers due to the global surge in power demand for advanced industries like AI.
To support the overseas expansion of K-culture consumer goods such as beauty, food, household goods, and merchandise, an additional 2.4 billion won will be allocated. The number of participating corporations in the 'New York Korean Wave Fair' scheduled for this November will be expanded, and additional Korean Wave fairs will be held in other regions. Additionally, the number of invited foreign buyers will be increased, and the frequency of trade delegations composed of domestic corporations will be expanded with an additional investment of 2.7 billion won.