[Jeon Daegyu's 7 Wins 8 Losses] Hwacha (火車), I Just Wanted to Be Happy

Jeon Daegyu, Chief Judge of Seoul Bankruptcy Court

Who are the people applying for personal rehabilitation or personal bankruptcy in court? Whether it was when the Gwangju District Court started handling personal bankruptcy cases in 2003 or now, society's view of those applying for personal bankruptcy or personal rehabilitation has not been favorable. The common perception is that they have severe spending habits, lack economic sense, and have moral issues. Is applying for personal bankruptcy or personal rehabilitation really just a result of individuals' irresponsible moral laxity?

"Sekine Shoko was not an unusually wasteful woman. She lived her life diligently in her own way. What happened to her could easily happen to you or me if circumstances changed even slightly."

In Miyabe Miyuki's novel Kasha (which was also adapted into a film in Korea), which exposes the ruin of a woman who fell into bankruptcy due to credit cards and loans and the corruption in the financial sector, the author explains that anyone can fall into bankruptcy, as seen in the case of 'Sekine Shoko' applying for personal bankruptcy. Furthermore, Miyabe Miyuki depicts that many people who reach personal bankruptcy tend to be quite honest, timid, and emotionally fragile.

Based on long experience handling personal bankruptcy cases, I cannot disagree with Miyabe Miyuki's analysis. Ordinary people can suddenly find themselves unable to escape the quicksand of credit cards or loans and unknowingly fall into the abyss of debt. In the novel, Sekine Shoko says the reason she accumulated so much debt was "simply because she wanted to be happy."

Miyabe Miyuki compares those who have fallen into bankruptcy to boarding the Kasha. The Kasha is a fiery cart that carries the deceased who committed evil deeds in life to hell. While it may be true that individuals in bankruptcy have boarded this fiery cart, I cannot agree that it means they committed evil deeds. In practice, many individuals try to apply for personal rehabilitation rather than personal bankruptcy. Even those who cannot apply for personal rehabilitation because they have no resources to repay after deducting living expenses insist on personal rehabilitation, reducing their living expenses as much as possible. When asked why they do not apply for personal bankruptcy but choose personal rehabilitation, they say it is because repaying even a little makes them feel at ease. They feel they must repay as much as they can until they are no longer able.

Individuals bear some responsibility for falling into bankruptcy. However, the responsibility of society, including banks and financial institutions, cannot be denied. Financial institutions lent money or allowed the use of credit cards without considering individuals' credit status, and they also demand high interest rates and excessive fees. Individuals increase their debt without knowing they might board the Kasha. Financial institutions, by neglecting the continuous increase in debt, block opportunities for individuals to get off the fiery cart. At some point, debt transforms into credit under the name of creditworthiness. People who have taken on a lot of debt become seen as having good credit. Moreover, society provides all kinds of information that leads individuals into reckless consumption. If you do this or that, you can make a lot of money. Invest in stocks. Buy a house. Travel to a certain country for fun, and so on. Individuals unknowingly fall into overconsumption due to the collected information. They fall into information bankruptcy.

As of the fourth quarter of 2019, household debt exceeded 1,600 trillion won. The consumer price inflation rate in 2019 was 0.4%, and the fear of R (Recession) is casting a shadow over our economy. The court must help those who are diligent but unfortunately burdened with debt to make a fresh start. Since an individual's debt is not incurred in a short period but accumulated over a long time, if individuals have the will to start over, they should be given relief. Carrying excessive debt is never just an individual's problem. When the head of a household faces economic difficulties, it leads to family and social problems. Children, who are future assets, become distant from fair competition, and the inheritance of debt continues. For those who see the future as too bleak and the past as too far behind, the court must never give up on them. This is the very reason for the existence of the Rehabilitation Court.