Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation Holds Customer Advisory Meeting

SUWON — The Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation held its third customer advisory committee meeting of 2026 at its headquarters in Namyangju on the 30th, gathering views from small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners.

The committee is a forum in which business owners and experts in the province propose changes to guarantee support policies and related rules. It has met quarterly since 2023, and the foundation has worked to reflect the views it collects in actual support policies.

Beyond the committee, the foundation has expanded its contact with businesses through roundtable visits to all 31 cities and counties in the province, its "ONDA" pop-up store and town hall meetings. In the first half of this year, it collected 346 field comments in total, including 106 proposals from the advisory committee.

A total of 23 people attended the meeting, including Chairman Shi Seok-jung, foundation executives and staff, and advisory committee members. With the terms of four incumbent members expiring, four heads of manufacturing companies based in Siheung, Anyang, Namyangju and Hwaseong were appointed as new advisers.

The new members run businesses in chemicals, molds, household goods and paper products. The foundation said it selected them based on recommendations from its branches, weighing factors such as industry, company size, region and business stability.

The meeting opened with a formal ceremony, followed by introductions of participants, a briefing on major support products, policy proposals, a discussion of plans to upgrade the E-Jiwon mobile service, and a group photo.

The foundation also introduced key guarantee products developed from customer feedback. Its "Balanced Development Opportunity UP" special guarantee supports companies in industrial complexes, firms in strategic industries designated by cities and counties, and businesses in northern Gyeonggi Province. The product reflects calls from businesses to narrow regional gaps in support.

It also presented the "Young Startup Power GO" special guarantee for early-stage startups and the "Next-Generation Future Growth" special guarantee for companies in growth industries such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and the environment.

During the policy proposal session, advisers described management difficulties specific to their industries and pointed to areas for improvement in the guarantee application process. The new members explained challenges facing businesses in their regions, while returning members checked on the status of proposals they had previously submitted and offered additional comments.

The foundation said it will review the comments with the relevant departments and reflect them in future policies and rule changes.

Participants then discussed plans to improve the E-Jiwon mobile guarantee application service. The foundation plans to introduce an AI chatbot and build an integrated consultation system linking KakaoTalk counseling with its call center. It expects the changes to improve access to consultations on weekends and holidays as well as weekdays.

The foundation also plans to automate repetitive tasks such as mailing documents and refunding guarantee fees, so that staff can focus more on customer consultations and improving service quality.

One of the new advisers said, "It is meaningful to take part in a forum that seeks to reflect voices from the field in policy," adding, "I hope the difficulties companies face will lead to substantive support."

Chairman Shi said, "This carries great significance as the first customer advisory committee meeting held since the foundation entered its Namyangju headquarters era," adding, "We will continue to develop into a comprehensive financial support institution that protects the present of businesses and helps them grow and rebound."