Personal Bankruptcies Increase for the First Time in 12 Years... 2,240 More Cases Last Year Compared to Previous Year

Personal Rehabilitation Also Shows Consecutive Growth for 2 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The number of personal bankruptcy cases, which had been decreasing every year since 2007, increased again last year for the first time in 12 years.

According to the '2020 Judicial Yearbook' published by the court on the 6th, the number of personal bankruptcy cases filed with the court last year was 45,642, an increase of 2,240 cases (5.2%) compared to the previous year (43,402 cases).

Seoul Rehabilitation Court (9,383 cases), Suwon District Court (6,287 cases), and Incheon District Court (6,082 cases) showed high numbers of bankruptcy cases in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions.

The number of personal bankruptcy cases peaked at 154,039 cases in 2007, the highest ever, and had been decreasing every year since. However, the annual decrease, which had been maintained at 3,000 to 8,000 cases, steadily declined, dropping by only 844 cases in 2018, and then reversed to an increasing trend last year.

Personal rehabilitation, which forgives the remaining debt if the debtor faithfully fulfills their obligations for a certain period, was recorded at 92,587 cases, an increase of 1,368 cases (1.5%) compared to the previous year (91,219 cases), showing an increasing trend for two consecutive years following 2018.

Corporate bankruptcy cases steadily increased, recording 931 cases, up 125 cases (15.5%) from the previous year (806 cases).

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