Good morning, fellow Koreans,

As economic conditions have begun to get ea better, conglomerates and mid-sized enterprises alike seem to feel a gentle, warm breeze of economic recovery. For low-income families, however, the recovery still appears to be far off.

The Government is channeling all its efforts into reviving the economy, putting emphasis on formulating policy prescriptions to help low-income individuals get back on their own feet. I already announced a plan to start a microcredit program for low-income people who want to support themselves and stand on their own feet but are denied bank loans, thus having to reluctantly resort to high-interest private loans.

Tomorrow, the first branch office of Microfinance Foundation will be opened in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province). It will be run by one of the six leading conglomerates in Korea, which donated the necessary funds. They are Samsung, Hyundai Motor Company, LG, SK, Lotte and POSCO. In addition to them, five commercial banks—KB, Woori, Shinhan, Hana and the Industrial Bank of Korea—are scheduled to open microcredit counseling counters one after another. As a matter of fact, the enthusiastic participation in the program by businesses has been beyond our expectations.

Thanks to their active support, the Foundation will likely raise additional funds of over 200 billion won on top of the original goal of two trillion won over the next decade. It will be sufficient to benefit more than 200,000 small-scale business owners.

The branch offices will be set up one by one starting from next year and the number is expected to reach two to three hundred across the nation. For the sake of convenience, they will be located near traditional outdoor markets or community service centers where people often gather.

I assume that Korea will become the first country to establish such a nationwide financial safety net covering almost all parts of the country. It is all the more significant that the big businesses will operate their own branches with their donations.

They have thus far made a lot of contributions such as cooperating with small businesses to achieve mutual benefits and running scholarship programs. Now, they have volunteered to provide microcredit services in an effort to help even small-time merchants and vendors at traditional markets as well as individuals most hurt by the financial crisis.

All around the world, countries are now putting their heads together to reduce domestic and international imbalances in an attempt to surmount the global economic crisis.

At this critical juncture, large companies themselves took the initiative in providing opportunities for low-income people to help themselves get back on their own feet. It constitutes an exemplary practice of paving the path toward the future and, at the same time, has a historic significance in that businesses are committed to fulfilling their corporate social responsibilities.

I hope such an act will serve as a catalyst spreading the spirit of sharing and volunteering in our society. I also look forward to sharing Korea’s successful experiences with other nations of the world.

I am deeply grateful to all the participating businesses and people.

When I talk about microcredit, there are still many people who say that they have heard about it somewhere, but that they do not have a clear picture about what it is. I will give an example to help make it easier to understand.

Last summer in Incheon city, a lady named Lee Ji-eun opened a clothing store called Harang. Now that she became the owner of the shop, I might as well call her a CEO. Ms Lee has gone through indescribable suffering. As a woman raising two children on her own, she had to work at a factory part-time. Her monthly salary amounted to a meager 440,000 won. Since she had to take care of her children, she could not afford to work the night shift or do overtime work.

Though she was a recipient of basic living support from the Government, she was not totally free from concerns about the future of her children and had a lot of regret about her own life, which all combined to weigh heavily on her mind. Thus, her discontent with society was on the rise.

At that very juncture, she was able to take out a loan of 20 million won without collateral thanks to a project aimed at helping those who are preparing to start a business to support themselves. By taking her cues from her college major, fashion design, she opened a boutique, which now gives her a handsome income. Thus, she is now running the business together with two friends, although that means she gets a smaller share. Still she said she is now dreaming about a better future for her family.

<RECORDING> “Thank you so much. I truly appreciate all the help and support. Thanks to such help, my children and I can now dream about the future together. Still, I will not sit idly by. With my colleagues, I am now preparing to open an online clothing shop. If my business prospers, I will never ever forget to return the favor that I received for those who are faced with an even more difficult situation than myself.”

I hope Ms Lee’s new business will also thrive.

Microcredit could also be of help to vendors who are selling things from street stalls or self-employed people running small shops.

Last May, Mr. Park Jin-hyo took out a loan worth 3 million won. He is running a small store called “Tofu Love” in the Suyu traditional market in Seoul. With that money, he was able to purchase a great quantity of quality beans as well as sesame and perilla seeds, which are vulnerable to price fluctuations. Word has started spreading that the shop makes high quality sesame and perilla seed oil and tofu. Thus, the number of regular customers has increased.

He put aside 17,000 won per day for six months for loan repayment, totaling 3.04 million won. To put it other way, the interest on 3 million won for six months amounted to just 40,000 won.

<RECORDING> “People who have a lot of money might say that 3 million won is not much, but that sum means more to a person like me than 3 hundred million would to them. I made a point of making installment repayments every week because that way other people will be able to use the money as well. I hope this fine system will be further expanded so more and more people will be able to make good use of it.”

You are right, Mr. Park. From my experience, I have often heard about instances where people took out a loan of 5 billion won or more and failed to pay it back. But I don’t know of any person who took a small loan of 5 million won or even 500,000 won or less and did not pay it back. Their payments may come a little late, but they do pay back eventually.

I have complete trust in the Korean people’s truthfulness and determination. When those who take out microloans pay them back in full, like Mr. Park, more and more people will be able to get help from the system, and consequently our society will gain an extraordinary asset, which is public trust.

I have additional words of advice for Mr. Park, and that is that I would like him to take advantage of the college loan program, too. I hope that Mr. Park’s children who have taken the College Scholastic Ability Test would use the new college loans and pay them back after they get a job upon graduation.

In September, I made detailed explanations about the microloans and the college loans that students will have to pay back only after starting to earn an income. I also talked about affordable housing, dubbed the Bogeumjari Housing system.

The three policies for ordinary families represent my Administration’s philosophy that people who do their best despite adverse conditions should be helped. During the next year, I expect people to feel the good effects of the Government’s programs.

Finally, I have a word of advice for people who are operating the microloan program as well. Microloans should never be treated lightly because of their small size. The loans are extremely precious to those who need them like a gentle rain after a long drought. I hope you will be able to convey your affection along with the loans. Please do all you can to help them succeed. You should be able to give business advice in understandable language and even help them manage their commercial undertakings.

When you treat the loan applicants with a sense of selfless service and love, it will yield abundant fruit, paving the way for establishing a viable system. When you lead a person to succeed, you are helping and protecting his or her whole family. You are bolstering the layers of the Republic’s middle class. You are making the Korean society warmer and more dynamic.

Let us all try our best until we see bright smiles on the faces of every member of our community.

Thank you very much.