Livelihood Protection Loan: Excludes high-income earners from institutional access t

South Korea's Financial Services Commission said its 2027 budget plan will exclude high-income earners who can already access mainstream banking from the new "Minsaeng Jikim" (livelihood protection) loan program, using in-person screening to filter them out. The program targets the bottom 50% of credit scorers, offering an initial 1 million won loan at 4.5% interest over a 10-year term, with an additional 1 million won available upon faithful repayment and a pathway into the formal financial system. The FSC said it set no separate income requirement so that people facing hardships such as disasters or illness are not excluded, but in-person consultations will assess the actual need for funds. The plan was detailed in a budget Q&A document released on the 3rd, which also covered debt adjustment and youth housing support criteria. The screening approach signals the government's intent to keep the subsidized credit targeted at the underserved rather than letting it leak to borrowers with existing access to banks. Watch for how the FSC operationalizes the in-person review and whether the loan-to-mainstream-banking linkage shapes demand among subprime borrowers.