South Korea rolls out AI‑based early‑warning for 250,000 SMEs, adds steel sector aid

The South Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups, together with other ministries, unveiled a comprehensive support plan that introduces an AI‑driven early‑warning system to monitor financial and market signals for 250,000 small and medium enterprises, up from the previous 60,000. The system will analyse financial statements, news and industry trends, issuing alerts in four grades and delivering support information via SMS and social media. Companies signalled as at risk will receive streamlined loan assessments, restructuring assistance, and access to programs such as the Jump‑Up initiative, with expanded debt‑restructuring incentives incorporated into the win‑win finance index.

In a related move, the government announced additional crisis‑response measures for the domestic steel industry to prevent regional economic fallout. New targets will be added this month, and existing aid of 24.7 billion KRW for firms in Pohang and Gwangyang will be supplemented by an extra 7 billion KRW from a supplementary budget. Measures include mandatory reporting of the origin of imported steel billets, 5 trillion KRW in R&D funding for hydrogen‑based steelmaking and high‑value special steels, and AI‑enabled process innovation. Both initiatives are part of an emergency economic strategy aimed at countering high interest rates, weak domestic demand, and fostering structural recovery across key sectors.