Donation for Turkey Earthquake Damage Can Be Transferred on the Same Day

Ministry of Economy and Finance and Bank of Korea, Expedite Overseas Remittance Procedures

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Joo Sang-don] From now on, donations for earthquake relief in Turkey can be remitted on the same day. Until now, it took up to five days due to document verification procedures, but the government has decided to process these procedures on the same day to contribute as quickly as possible to the local earthquake recovery efforts.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 13th that it will ease the remittance procedures for donations to Turkey earthquake relief.

Following the recent magnitude 7.8 earthquake in central and southern Turkey, there is a need for international humanitarian aid for earthquake relief. According to foreign exchange transaction regulations, when a domestic headquarters directly pays donations to international organizations, international groups, or foreign governments without going through local subsidiaries, no separate notification is required.

However, remitting donations through local subsidiaries causes time differences. Local subsidiaries of domestic companies operating in Turkey are also striving to secure funds to contribute to local earthquake recovery, such as refugee support and securing relief supplies, but the remittance procedures take time, causing difficulties in timely support. When local subsidiaries support earthquake relief donations to local non-profit organizations based on headquarters' support, the document verification process by the Bank of Korea and foreign exchange banks for overseas remittances involving donations or gifts usually takes about 3 to 5 days.

Therefore, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Bank of Korea aim to support the prompt resolution of overseas remittance procedures related to humanitarian aid for Turkey, which are delayed at frontline banks due to document verification, by providing authoritative interpretations and administrative guidance, as prior notification is not required.

Additionally, in cases where support through local subsidiaries (third-party transactions) inevitably requires separate procedures such as prior notification to the Bank of Korea under the current foreign exchange regulation system, the procedures will be processed on the same day as the notification to support corporate activities.