[DigitalToday reporter Lee Ji-young] Woori Financial Group will increase support for productive and inclusive finance by 10 trillion won. It will expand funding for the real economy, including advanced strategic industries and exporters. It will also strengthen support for vulnerable groups by writing off long-overdue debts and supplying mid-interest loans.

Woori Financial said on June 21 it discussed ways to expand the "Future Shared Growth Project" at the "June Advanced Strategic Industry Finance Council" on June 19, chaired by Chairman Yim Jong-yong (임종룡) and attended by CEOs of major affiliates.

Under the plan, Woori Financial will raise the Future Shared Growth Project target by 10 trillion won to a total of 90 trillion won. The increase consists of 9.4 trillion won in productive finance and 600 billion won in inclusive finance.

The 9.4 trillion won increase in productive finance will be supplied early this year and next year. It plans to execute 5.7 trillion won this year and 3.7 trillion won next year to expand financial support for advanced strategic industries and exporters.

It will also expand the scale of inclusive finance support. Woori Financial decided to add 2.3 trillion won to the original target of 1.2 trillion won for this year, providing a total of 3.5 trillion won within the year.

It plans to write off about 280 billion won of long-overdue debts to support recovery for long-overdue customers. Woori Bank, following a halt in collection and a waiver of unpaid interest on about 40 billion won of long-overdue debts in March, will additionally write off 120 billion won of long-overdue debts in the second half. Woori Card will also push to write off about 120 billion won of long-overdue debts.

It will also expand the financial safety net for borrowers with low to mid credit. Woori Financial plans to supply a total of 1.1 trillion won in mid-interest loans through its bank, card, capital and savings bank units. It will also include 300 billion won in emergency living-expense and refinancing loans, 600 billion won in small business loans and 12 billion won in microfinance to strengthen support for financially vulnerable groups.

The supply of inclusive finance products by affiliate also continues. Woori Bank provided about 46,000 people with total interest-reduction benefits worth about 1.4 billion won through the "annual 7 percent interest-rate cap on personal credit loans" launched in January, through the end of May. The "WooriWON Dream Living Expense Loan," launched in March, is supporting emergency living funds for about 3,000 people using an alternative credit scoring model.

It also launched the "WooriWON Dream Refinancing Loan" in May, allowing customers who use loans from non-bank financial institutions to switch to bank loans. The product aims to lower the interest burden for high-interest borrowers and support settlement into the regulated financial system.

Woori Financial Savings Bank supplied a cumulative total of about 118 billion won in the policy mid-interest product Saeitdol Loan as of the end of May. It reflects payments of overdue interest into loan principal repayment for multiple-debt holders and customers in the bottom 30 percent or lower of external credit ratings. It is also providing benefits including deletion of overdue records and waiver of overdue interest for customers who still have overdue interest remaining after subrogation under special guarantee loans.

Chairman Yim said, "This increase in the productive and inclusive finance target is a promise to the market and customers that Woori Financial will take more responsibility in supporting the real economy and vulnerable groups." He added, "Please have each subsidiary actively implement it so that Woori Financial can be reborn as warm finance."