Good morning, fellow Koreans,

On March 27, the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit with the theme “Beyond Security Towards Peace” came to a successful end.

Through the Summit, we set another great milestone on the path to making a world without nuclear weapons and to leaving a more peaceful and safer world to our children.

A remarkable achievement of the Summit was that the leaders of the 53 countries reached a voluntary agreement for the sake of world peace and announced the Seoul Communique.

The participating delegations from around the world lavished praise on Korea’s impeccable preparations and seamless operation of the Summit events. All the credit should go to the people who provided enthusiastic support and cooperation.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for putting up with inconveniences and being supportive this time just as you had been during the G20 Seoul Summit.

Even though the North Korean nuclear issue was not discussed as part of the official agenda of the Summit, the Chinese and Russian leaders as well as other participating heads of state shared a common understanding about the seriousness of North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs.

Chinese President Hu Jintao urged the North Korean leadership to withdraw its plan to launch a missile and to work to improve the lives of North Korean people.

On the sidelines of the Summit, I was able to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of 24 countries, approximately half of the participating nations. Through those meetings, Korea reached an agreement with Turkey and Vietnam to speed up cooperation to build two nuclear power plants. Another immense accomplishment made was an agreement with Indonesia that Korea would participate as a major partner in the country’s seven-year economic development plan.

Our business leaders, too, had rare and precious opportunities to meet with the heads of state of countries where their businesses are operating. I was told that they had reaped considerable results.

Fellow Koreans,

As the global economic crisis continues, the lives of low-income families have become more difficult. Many people do not have a second chance to start all over again because of a lack of credit. Many others are struggling with illegal, high-interest private loans.

Last Friday, I made a visit to the Smile Microcredit Bank for the second time as part of the efforts to see whether the low-interest lending programs especially designed for low-income families are actually meeting their needs and to seek ways to substantively expand such programs. 

There I sat together with the Minister of Finance and Strategy and other government officials, several presidents of banks, working-level officials in charge of providing financial help to working class people and beneficiaries.

Beginning three years ago, the Government has come up with various support measures to facilitate lending for working-class people, including low-interest loans such as Haetsal Loan and Saehuimang holssi. Conglomerates and banks have been donating financial resources for these loan programs and even engaged first-hand in their implementation.

They are unparalleled anywhere in the world in that the ultimate goal of these programs is not simply to provide loans but to help low-income families stand on their own feet. Some countries with keen interest in the programs are adopting them.

Since 2008, more than 500,000 people have benefited from such programs. During my visit on that day, I was able to meet some people who found the hope to start anew thanks to the low-interest loan programs for low-income people.

The following is what Chung Nak-cheol, head of the branch of the Smile Microcredit Bank in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, had to say:

“One day a widow visited the branch office with tears in her eyes, saying that her husband had passed away last year after having been bedridden for the past 15 years and had only left behind debts. With the five million won we provided, however, she was able to open a small stall selling fried food on the street of the Cheonan Central Market. Working hard, she began settling her debts. And last year, she was able to expand her stall by two pyeong, or about six and a half square meters, and started selling boiled rice in soup. So now, she could stand on her own feet.”

The Bakkweodeurim Loan was devised to help people break the shackles of high-interest loans by switching private loans with high interest rates of over 20 percent to loans with an average 11 percent interest rate. The following is what Kim Hui-sook from Gwacheon City, a 58-year old beneficiary of the program, said:

“I came to know about the Bakkwodeurim Loan of the Korea Asset Management Corporation at a difficult time when I had no choice but to resort to a loan with an interest rate of about 40 percent. For the needy, just 100,000 won means much. With the help of the program, I could reduce the interest costs little by little. Continued endeavors to help working class people with such low-interest loans will be greatly appreciated.”   

Students in their 20s who struggle to pay tuition often take out usurious loans. Many of these young people do not seem to know about the loan system for low-income families. A person who was at the meeting expressed regret over that situation. Lee Gwan-hee, a student, said as follows:

“Quite unexpectedly, I found out about the Bakkweodeurim Loan. Now I am paying the principal plus low interest. I learned about the inexpensive loan the hard way. I hope that the loan system will get increased publicity so that more and more college students and even older people will get the information readily and better their lives financially.”

The situation of many low-income families is even worse. They are the ones who deserve the low-interest loans the most. However, most of them do not seem to know because they are too tired after a hard day’s work to take time to find out about the system.

The new loan system has not been implemented long enough. But I am very glad to see the way it is driving out usurious daily-installment loans at traditional markets. More and more low-income families are being rehabilitated financially.

Beginning in May, the Government plans to drastically expand the financial support system for young people. Utilizing the 50-billion-won guaranty fund contributed by the banks, the Government is to replace the existing high-interest school loans with low-interest ones. It will also extend emergency living expenses to young people who work hard to stand on their own feet.

Some people are worried about the possibility that the borrowers might renege after using up the loans. But I believe the low-income family loans system should first and foremost, be operated with a warm heart.

What is actually happening is that a great majority of the borrowers strive to pay the money back. In fact, some borrowers feel so grateful that they make contributions over and above what they owe. The following is a remark by a Cheonan City resident surnamed Yu:

“Years ago, I was hit with insurmountable credit card debts while running a store in Cheonan. Then I applied for a walk-out program with the Credit Restoration Commission. Over two years until last December, I paid up all the debts and sent in an extra contribution in appreciation for what the Government did for me.”

Many people volunteer to work with the financial institutions for households in need. I always feel grateful to those young college students and retirees experienced in financial matters.

I only hope that the microloan system will be much better established, making our society warmer and happier.

Thank you very much.