KAMCO seeks to better assist troubled SMEs

Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) Chairman Moon Chang-yong speaks during a press conference held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of KAMCO

By Kim Bo-eun

Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) will actively assist troubled but viable small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in normalizing their business through revisions to related regulations, its chief said Thursday.

"KAMCO's role should be expanded at a time when economic uncertainties are growing and the economic recession continues," KAMCO Chairman Moon Chang-yong said in a press conference held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul.

“State-run banks can assume the restructuring of conglomerates and KAMCO can do this for SMEs,” he said.

Moon said KAMCO will seek to revise the so-called KAMCO Act that defines the agency's role.

“We are seeking to reflect KAMCO's developed role and function in regulations, and create legal grounds for projects to assist businesses in normalizing operations,” he said.

Under the law established in 1997, KAMCO's role is defined as “temporarily managing funds to settle non-performing loans and seeking soundness of financial institutions, to overcome financial crisis.”

The revisions to the law were proposed in November last year.

They seek to include assisting the recovery of financial entities and increasing the value of public property in KAMCO's role.

The revisions also seek to increase the amount of KAMCO's capital from 1 trillion won to 3 trillion won, considering it would need a greater amount of funds to be able to assist troubled financial entities.

“The revisions will help the restructuring of SMEs,” Moon said.

The chairman also said KAMCO will begin a debt rescheduling program for guarantors of corporate bonds this year by alleviating their debt burdens.

This is part of measures the Financial Services Commission pledged to take to support the self-employed last year.

Moon assumed his position in November 2016.

KAMCO, established in 1962, is a quasi-government agency that resolves distressed financial assets and provides corporate restructuring efforts.