Lebanon Declares Moratorium on 1.4 Trillion Won Debt Due in 9 Days: "Price of Years of Mistakes"

In the National Address on the 7th, "Debt and Interest Exceed Manageable Levels"

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab (Babda, Reuters=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab declared a 'moratorium,' meaning a debt repayment suspension, stating that Lebanon will not be able to repay $1.2 billion (approximately 1.4 trillion KRW) worth of bonds maturing in 9 days during a live national address on the afternoon of the 7th (local time).

Prime Minister Diab said, "Lebanon's debt and interest exceed what we can bear," proposing to postpone the repayment date and negotiate fairly with creditors for debt restructuring.

Although he did not explicitly say that Lebanon will default on the bonds, some major foreign media outlets evaluated this speech as a step toward debt default.

Diab emphasized, "To supply essential goods to the Lebanese people, we must suspend debt repayments," adding, "Only this decision can protect our national interests at the start of a comprehensive reform program."

He continued, "We are paying the price for mistakes made over the past several years," and added, "While the people were living with empty hopes that things would just get better, Lebanon sank into debt and interest, with national debt reaching $90 billion (approximately 107 trillion KRW), which is 170% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."

Lebanon is currently in an economic crisis due to long-term civil war from 1975 to 1990, national debt, unemployment, and depreciation of its own currency. At the end of last year, anti-government protests erupted over a planned tax on messenger programs such as WhatsApp, leading to political turmoil lasting more than four months.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.