Yoon Dae-hee, chairman of the KODIT, delivers his opening speech at a webinar jointly held between the KODIT and the AECM on June 10. (Photo: KODIT)

KODIT announced on June 11 that it held a joint webinar with the European Association of Guarantee Institutions (AECM) the previous day under the theme of “Korea’s Innovative Financial Cases in the Age of Digital Change.”

The AECM is an association of 48 guarantee agencies in 30 European countries. About 50 experts from the KODIT and AECM member institutions in France, Spain and Austria among others, participated in the webinar.

KODIT presented and discussed its role and performance in the economic crisis sparked by the relentless global spread of the novel coronavirus, KODIT’s innovative financial cases, and the current status and development direction of KODIT's ICT system in the webinar.

KODIT explained that it held this non-face-to-face online international conference in light of the importance of policy exchanges on overcoming the economic crisis at a time when the COVID-19 crisis is expected to last with no end in sight.

“In order to overcome the global economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 crisis, international cooperation and digital innovation are important,” said Yoon Dae-hee, chairman of KODIT, in an opening speech.

“We hope that this webinar will serve as a knowledge-sharing platform for Korea and Europe to share innovative knowledge and have international discussions on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.”

KODIT held a ceremony to celebrate the 44th anniversary of its foundation at its headquarters in Daegu on June 1. The event was held via a non-face-to-face video conferencing system to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Through the event, KODIT employees looked back on its past and shared the organization’s roles in the national economic crisis and directions it should take in the post-COVID-19 era. They also renewed their will for anti-corruption and integrity through a “clean campaign” for executives and employees.

KODIT was launched in the early 70s to support small and medium-sized enterprises which could not receive support from the government in the early 70s when mainly large companies achieved rapid economic growth.

It has served as a stepping stone for corporate growth by supplying funds to small and medium-sized companies that lack collateral, and has faithfully served as an economic safety net in every economic crisis during the IMF bailout program and the global financial crisis.

In particular, as soon as the novel coronavirus crisis hit Korea, the organization began to support companies by initiating a wide array of anti-crisis measures such as special guarantees for small and medium-sized companies which suffered from the relentless spread of the COVID-19 virus.

KODIT will increase its guarantee amount by 25 trillion won in 2020 compared to its original plan so that it will be able to provide sufficient liquidity to temporarily cash-strapped companies.

At the inaugural ceremony, KODIT employees resolved to concentrate their capabilities with a special sense of duty so that Korean companies having hard time due to the COVID-19 crisis can make another leap forward.

KODIT also plans to strengthen the organization’s position as a leading innovative financial institution by further developing non-face-to-face services such as electronic agreements and mobile apps in line with the era of digital transformation, and providing corporate data such as commercial credit indexes to the private sector.

On top of that, its employees vowed to take the lead in spreading social value and enhancing the KODIT’s sustainability by earning more trust from customers.

“We will do our best to save companies so that the KODIT with the ability to overcome the crisis will be able to become a strong supporter for the Korean economy,” said Yoon Dae-hee, chairman of the KODIT.

The KODIT, meanwhile, joined the “Thank-You” Campaign to express its gratitude and respect for medical staffs at the forefront of rolling back the novel coronavirus.