Mubo, Abandoned Foreign Bonds Worth '1.5 Trillion'... Over 500 Billion from the United States Alone

The headquarters of Korea Trade Insurance Corporation located in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] It has been revealed that the scale of overseas claims that the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-sure) has effectively given up on recovering amounts to 1.5 trillion won. There are concerns that uncollected overseas claims could drive up trade insurance premiums.

According to the "Status of Overseas Claims" submitted by K-sure to Rep. Yang Geumhee of the People Power Party on the 13th, as of the end of July, the cumulative amount of overseas claims that have been closed was recorded at 1.5394 trillion won. Closed claims refer to overseas claims that K-sure has judged to be unrecoverable and has effectively given up on collecting. The closed claims accounted for about 29% of the total overseas claims generated (5.3622 trillion won).

There were also claims that were completely uncollected. Among the 1.5394 trillion won in closed overseas claims, the amount of fully uncollected claims that have not been recovered at all was 226.1 billion won, which is 14.7% of the total closed claims.

Looking at the status of closed claims by country, the United States had the largest amount at 501.4 billion won, followed by Poland (174.7 billion won), Russia (150.5 billion won), China (103.8 billion won), Brazil (95.4 billion won), Hong Kong (86.2 billion won), and Japan (72.3 billion won).

The country with the largest balance of overseas claims was Bermuda (242.7 billion won). Brazil (154.9 billion won), the United Arab Emirates (121.4 billion won), the United States (104.1 billion won), Pakistan (99.6 billion won), Hungary (85.9 billion won), and China (82.0 billion won) followed. The United States, China, and Brazil also ranked high in the closed claims list, classifying them as countries requiring more focused efforts on claim recovery.

Countries with an overseas claim recovery rate below 10% include Tanzania (1.5%), Ghana (2.6%), Lebanon (4.2%), and Cuba (4.3%), among six countries in total. The balance of recoverable claims in these six countries amounts to 256.1 billion won.

Meanwhile, K-sure compensates export companies first when domestic companies fail to receive export payments from overseas clients, then proceeds to recover the funds. However, if it is judged that there is no practical benefit due to debtor bankruptcy or business suspension, the management of overseas claims is closed.

Rep. Yang said, "If K-sure’s overseas claims are not recovered, they are recognized as losses, which could cause damage such as increased insurance premiums for other companies," adding, "A system should be established to select countries for focused management based on claim balances and recovery rates and to prioritize their management."

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