The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) said on March 27 that it has provided support for issuing refund guarantees (RG) worth about 540 billion won, or roughly $358.3 million, to three domestic mid-sized shipbuilders, Daehan Shipbuilding, K Shipbuilding and HJ Shipbuilding and Construction.

The support was introduced to ease the financial burden on mid-sized shipbuilders facing difficulties in securing orders due to a lack of RG limits and to support stable order activities.

An RG is a guarantee in which a financial institution pledges to return the advance payment to the shipowner on behalf of the shipbuilder if the vessel is not delivered according to the contract. It is an essential requirement for securing shipbuilding orders.

The three mid-sized shipbuilders that received support have recently achieved significant improvements in their financial structure, with operating profits rising sharply in 2025 from a year earlier and debt ratios declining, driven by improving market conditions.

However, due to the nature of the shipbuilding industry, they must continuously secure RGs to provide to shipowners during the contract process, and have faced difficulties due to insufficient credit limits.

K-SURE has been operating a special support program for RGs to help improve financial access for small and mid-sized shipbuilders.

Under the program, the agency provides guarantees to shipbuilders with temporary credit shortages to ensure they are not unable to export due to a lack of RGs.

To date, K-SURE has supported approximately 1 trillion won in RG issuances through this special support program alone, bolstering the foundation for orders in the small and medium-sized shipbuilding sector.
Source: Business Korea