6-Month Extension of Repayment Grace Period and Bond Purchases... KAMCO Implements 7th COVID-19 Support Measures

Follow-up Measures in Accordance with Government Announcement

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) will uniformly extend the repayment grace period for debtors facing economic difficulties due to COVID-19 by six months and implement support measures such as purchasing the debtors' claims.

KAMCO announced on the same day that it will implement this 8th support measure starting from the 1st. This is a follow-up measure to the government's announcement on the 27th of last month regarding the 'Additional Extension of Support Measures to Strengthen Recovery for Vulnerable Individual Debtors.'

Accordingly, the repayment grace period for unsecured debtors with repayment deferrals as of the end of last month will be uniformly extended by six months until the end of this year. From today, notification messages containing related information will be sent to those eligible for the repayment deferral.

Additionally, KAMCO will extend the operation of the personal delinquent debt purchase fund, which has been operating from June 2020 until last month to support financial institution delinquent debtors affected by COVID-19, until the end of this year.

By using this system, debtors can request KAMCO to purchase unsecured personal loan claims from financial institutions that became delinquent between February 2020 and this year, which failed debt adjustment due to reasons such as rejection by the Credit Recovery Committee, refusal, or expiration. Financial institutions may also directly sell their held personal delinquent claims to KAMCO if necessary for soundness management amid the prolonged COVID-19 situation.

KAMCO exempts default interest on delinquent claims purchased through the personal delinquent debt purchase fund and supports repayment deferral (up to 2 years), installment repayment (up to 10 years), and debt reduction (up to 60%) depending on the debtor's income recovery level.

Kim Gwisoo, Head of KAMCO's Household Support Division, said, "We hope this additional measure will provide some help to those struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic," and added, "We will continue to strive to support the rapid economic crisis recovery and re-advancement of low-income and vulnerable groups."