Seoul, Dec 22 (NationPress) The count of individuals newly requesting help through a debt workout program is expected to achieve a record-breaking level this year, based on government statistics published on Sunday, as the economy continues to face prolonged downturns.
Through the state-operated bailout initiative, the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service (CCRS) partners with financial institutions to offer those nearing insolvency a fresh start by restructuring their financial commitments and forgiving debts when necessary.
As of the end of November, a total of 179,310 applicants had enrolled in the program, according to data from the CCRS submitted to Rep. Lee Jeong-moo of the primary opposition Democratic Party. This annual figure is anticipated to exceed the previous year's record of 184,867 applicants, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
Significantly, the number of self-employed individuals, primarily small business owners, who sought to enroll in the program reached 26,267 by the end of November, surpassing last year’s record of 25,024.
This increase is attributed to ongoing economic difficulties, such as elevated inflation and interest rates, alongside sluggish domestic demand.
Moreover, corporate bankruptcies have also reached unprecedented levels this year.
According to additional data from the court authorities, the number of corporate bankruptcy filings in the January-November period totaled 1,745, exceeding the previous record of 1,657 established in 2023.
The number of corporate bankruptcy decisions has also seen a notable rise, with 1,514 cases documented this year, marking an increase of 16.3 percent from last year's total of 1,302 cases.
In the meantime, the loan delinquency rate for self-employed individuals, mainly small business owners, in South Korea reached a historic peak in 2023.
The rate increased by 0.3 percentage points from the previous year, climbing to 0.66 percent last year, as per data compiled by Statistics Korea. Both the delinquency rate and its growth rate have marked all-time highs since the agency began tracking this data in 2017.
—IANS
