South Korea will offer a debt relief program for small business owners hit by the COVID-19 pandemic to help improve their financial health, the finance ministry said Friday, amid concerns that they could face heavier debt-servicing burdens following recent rate hikes.
Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol announced the measures during a meeting with relevant ministers, after the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point for the second consecutive meeting the previous day to curb mounting inflationary pressures.
“Recently, the key rate has been raised twice, and market interest rates are also rising,”…