Woori Card Decides to Sell Sangnoksoo Bonds After President Lee Criticizes "Predatory Finance"

Supporting the Rehabilitation of Vulnerable Borrowers

Woori Card announced on May 12 that it has decided to sell the entirety of its long-term delinquent bonds, corresponding to its 10% stake held in Sangnoksoo No.1 Securitization Specialty Company (Sangnoksoo), to the New Leap Fund managed by Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO).

The decision to sell the related bonds was made after President Lee Jae-myung referred to Sangnoksoo's collection activities on long-term delinquent bonds as "predatory finance" earlier in the day.

President Lee Jae-myung is heading to his seat after the national ceremony at the Senior Secretary Meeting held at the Cheong Wa Dae Yeomin Hall on the 7th. Photo by Yonhap News

Sangnoksoo is a special purpose company established by major domestic banks and card companies. It does not participate in the New Leap Fund—a government program that restructures small-scale delinquent bonds to assist borrowers who have lost repayment ability.

On this day, President Lee pledged to resolve the issue by posting an article on X (formerly Twitter) highlighting that debtors are unable to benefit from debt relief because Sangnoksoo does not participate in the New Leap Fund.

Woori Card explained that it decided to sell the bonds in order to support the rehabilitation of borrowers facing economic hardship due to long-term delinquency and to practice inclusive finance.

Once the bonds are transferred to the New Leap Fund, collections on the relevant borrowers will be immediately halted. Thereafter, debt restructuring and installment repayment plans will be arranged based on each borrower's repayment capacity. For those without repayment ability, such as recipients of basic livelihood support, the bonds will be automatically written off within one year.

A Woori Card representative stated, "We will continue to do our utmost to support the recovery and rehabilitation of vulnerable groups based on the values of inclusive finance."

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