[THE INVESTOR]  President Park Geun-hye on Sept. 23 attended a ceremony to launch a government-led institution handling micro-financing services in a show of resolve to pay greater attention to the underprivileged.

Based on a law enacted in March, the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency was launched to serve as a one-stop lending center for financially strained citizens, including workers, young entrepreneurs and college students.

The agency has integrated a set of existing microcredit and other loan service programs, including the Sunshine Loan and Smile Microcredit. Since 2013, 16 trillion won (US$14 billion) has been injected into these lending services.

During her congratulatory remarks, Park called for a revamp of the three core areas of financial assistance for regular citizens-- the selection of loan applications, the development of loan programs and the delivery of loans.

“The important task for now is to offer more practical assistance to regular citizens facing (financial difficulties) by revamping the three core areas of the financial assistance,” she said.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)