A $17 billion cooperative trade finance initiative is being launched to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment sector. SK Hynix and four major banks are contributing funds, with the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation providing guarantees.
On October 19, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Minister Kim Jung-kwan visited the semiconductor cluster in Yongin to inspect the construction site of SK Hynix's Yongin Fab 1 and the progress of the Trinity Fab project. Following this, Minister Kim attended a signing ceremony for the semiconductor cooperative trade finance initiative involving SK Hynix, the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, and the four banks: Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, and Hana. He is also scheduled to hold a meeting with representatives from materials and parts companies.
This financial support is part of the 'Export Supply Chain Strengthening Guarantee' program, where SK Hynix and the four banks will contribute a total of 100 billion won, allowing the trade insurance corporation to provide guarantees worth 20 times that amount, totaling 2 trillion won.
This initiative marks the largest agreement of its kind among single companies. The beneficiaries will be selected from SK Hynix's recommended partners, who will undergo a guarantee review by the trade insurance corporation. Selected companies will receive financial benefits such as preferential interest rates and discounts on guarantee fees through Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, and Hana banks.
The trade insurance corporation will provide 100% guarantees for small and medium-sized enterprises over three years and apply special guarantee fee rates. Participating banks will offer preferential interest rates up to 2.5 percentage points lower and cover the entire guarantee fee for three years. The maximum guarantee limit for the semiconductor sector will also be increased to 50%, reflecting the sector's significant contribution to exports, accounting for 42% of total exports as of September this year.
This collaborative funding model between large corporations and financial institutions was first introduced in the automotive sector last year. In August 2025, Hyundai Motor and Hana Bank signed an agreement to contribute a total of 40 billion won to the trade insurance corporation for the export supply chain strengthening guarantee program. At that time, they agreed to provide a total of 630 billion won in preferential financing to automotive parts suppliers based on the contributions. Through this program, a total of 2.4 trillion won has been raised for sectors such as automotive, shipbuilding, and steel.
The initiative aims to ensure that partner companies can secure stable funding for facility investments and technology development. Additionally, there are plans to expand support to other strategic industries such as defense, nuclear power, and biotechnology, with a goal of raising 10 trillion won in cooperative trade finance by the end of the year.
Alongside financial support, efforts will also be made to enhance the technological competitiveness of semiconductor materials and parts companies. The Trinity Fab, which is being established in the Yongin semiconductor cluster, will support the mass production suitability evaluation and technology verification for materials and parts companies. The Trinity Fab project involves creating mass production-level verification testing facilities at SK Hynix's Yongin Fab 1.
The government plans to link the Trinity Fab with cooperative trade finance to support research and development, facility investments, and entry into mass production for semiconductor materials and parts companies.
Minister Kim Jung-kwan stated, "We will expand cooperative trade finance in the semiconductor sector to at least 5 trillion won and actively support projects for mutual growth, new semiconductor funds, and workforce training to build a cooperative ecosystem that spreads the benefits of the semiconductor industry evenly to small and medium-sized enterprises."
During the site inspection at the Yongin semiconductor cluster, he emphasized the importance of quickly securing semiconductor production capacity while ensuring that safety accidents do not occur during the construction period.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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