Korea Eximbank faces pressure to expand credit for major overseas projects

During a National Assembly audit, lawmakers raised concerns regarding the credit limits of the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) and its ability to support massive overseas orders in sectors like defense, nuclear power, and shipbuilding. Representative Ahn Do-geol urged the rapid introduction of a ‘Strategic Export Finance Fund’ to handle large-scale projects and called for measures to correct the imbalance in credit supply, which is heavily concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan and Yeongnam regions.

Additionally, discussions focused on potential policy finance support for Korea Zinc’s ‘Project Crucible,’ a $7.4 billion integrated smelter construction in Clarksville, Tennessee, USA. The project aims to produce critical minerals such as gallium, germanium, and indium to reduce dependence on China. While the U.S. government plans to provide $4.7 billion in loans, lawmakers questioned why Korea Eximbank has not yet made a definitive decision on supporting the venture.

The audit also addressed issues regarding joint and several guarantees for companies affected by the suspension of inter-Korean economic cooperation projects and errors found in the evaluation reports of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).