KAMCO to Write Off Bonds Delinquent Over 20 Years, "5.9 Trillion Won to Be Cleared"

The Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) announced on November 4 that it will revise its regulations on the statute of limitations for long-term delinquent bonds and proceed with the write-off of bonds that have been delinquent for more than 20 years.

KAMCO has amended its statute of limitations management regulations so that, starting next year, factors such as the delinquency period and the debtor's repayment ability will be reasonably reflected when determining whether to extend the statute of limitations for a bond.

Specifically, if the statute of limitations for a bond acquired and extended once has expired again, KAMCO will conduct an assessment of the debtor's repayment ability. If it is confirmed that the debtor lacks repayment ability, the statute of limitations will, in principle, not be extended for those parties.

In addition, KAMCO has expanded the scope of socially vulnerable groups for whom the statute of limitations will not be extended, regardless of the number of expirations, to include veterans and others. New exceptions have also been established, such as exempting joint guarantors who lack repayment ability from the extension of the statute of limitations and releasing them from guarantee obligations.

Furthermore, for bonds that have been delinquent for over 20 years and have no repayment history for more than 7 years, and are not subject to sale to the New Leap Fund, KAMCO plans to assess the debtor's repayment ability. If it is determined that the debtor lacks repayment ability, the corporation will proceed with writing off those bonds.

KAMCO explained that, through these measures, it expects to efficiently resolve long-held bonds amounting to 5.9 trillion won, involving up to 43,000 borrowers with low recovery prospects.

Jung Junghoon, President of KAMCO, stated, "Going forward, KAMCO will continue to play a leading role in advancing the government's key policy of promoting inclusive finance."

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