South Korea to grant Ukraine its first concessional loan, funds to go to state budget
Illustrative photo: South Korea approves loan to Ukraine (mof.gov.ua)
Ukraine has agreed with South Korea on a concessional loan of $100 million. The money will be directed to the state budget, according to the press service of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.
According to the Ministry, Ukraine's Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko signed the loan agreement today, October 2, with the Export-Import Bank of Korea. This agreement involves the allocation of $100 million.
This $100 million will be the first financial support to flow into Ukraine's state budget from South Korea.
The loan is granted for a period of 20 years, with an interest rate of 1.0% per annum and a grace period of 5 years from the date of signing the agreement.
"Despite the thousands of kilometers between Ukraine and the Republic of Korea, our partnership continues to strengthen. I am grateful for the constructive cooperation, which results in mobilization of resources for the urgent budgetary needs of Ukraine," Marchenko said.
The Ministry of Finance reminded that in April, the governments of Ukraine and South Korea signed an agreement allowing Kyiv to secure loans of up to $2.1 billion from 2024 to 2029.
Background
In June, the media spread rumors that South Korea might reconsider its position on supplying weapons to Ukraine. This speculation arose due to a new agreement between Russia and North Korea.
In particular, journalists suggested the possibility of South Korea providing air defense systems to Ukrainian forces.
