Reason for proposal and main contents

It aims to protect the self-employed and small business owners from economic crisis by easing the repayment conditions for loans contracted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented infectious disease, has caused damages to the whole of society. Businesses that were unable to operate as usual suffered significant losses, and their profits plummeted further due to the government's restrictions. It has been pointed out that it is unreasonable for individuals to bear the entire burdens caused by government policies.

Therefore, the proposed revision aims to enable the Financial Services Commission to order the sellers of financial products to take protective measures for those financial consumers whose business has been restricted or closed due to a disaster or whose income has decreased due to deteriorating conditions attributable to economic fluctuations, including those for a suspension of repayment of the loan principal, an extension of the repayment period, and deferred payment of interest and insurance premiums. This is intended to provide greater support to small businesses, which are the capillaries of the people's livelihood (Newly established Article 49 (3) of the draft).