Gyeonggi Province discharged 153.1 billion KRW of malignant debt for 492 individuals last year.
The Gyeonggi Province Financial Welfare Support Center revealed on the 15th the "Gyeonggi Province Residents' Malignant Debt Liberation Diary," which legally discharged 153.1 billion KRW of malignant debt for 492 Gyeonggi residents who applied for personal bankruptcy discharge through the center last year, in cooperation with the Korea Legal Aid Corporation.
According to the diary, among the 393 people who provided housing information, 99.7% did not own their homes. 74.04% were monthly rent households, including monthly rent and rental housing. The remaining 23.9% lived rent-free in homes of relatives or acquaintances.
Also, among the total 492 individuals, 81.9% were unemployed at the time of applying for personal bankruptcy discharge. Simple labor accounted for 13.6%. The age group of 50 and older was the largest at 85.4%. Basic livelihood security recipients made up 76%.
Among 275 people who provided income information, 12.7% had a monthly average income below 500,000 KRW, 61.8% below 1 million KRW, and 20.7% below 1.5 million KRW.
At the time of application, high debt of 200 million KRW or more accounted for 28.2%. Debts under 50 million KRW accounted for 22.7%.
Regarding the possession of multiple creditors, 59.3% had five or fewer creditors, which was the largest group. Meanwhile, 40.6% had six or more creditors.
The center explained that besides personal bankruptcy discharge applications, it supported 65 cases of personal rehabilitation applications and linked 247 cases of personal workouts (such as extension of repayment period, installment repayment, and interest rate adjustment).
Park Jeong-man, Director of the Gyeonggi Financial Welfare Center (lawyer), said, "No one can run while fallen. The Gyeonggi Financial Welfare Center has played a social safety net role by providing opportunities for recovery to Gyeonggi residents on the brink due to malignant debt," adding, "We will create a Gyeonggi Province where opportunities for recovery breathe by establishing friendly cooperative relationships not only with the newly opened Suwon Rehabilitation Court but also with the Uijeongbu District Court."
The center, which opened in seven locations in the province in July 2015, currently operates 19 regional centers including a one-stop center to meet residents' needs. As of the end of February, it has achieved the legal discharge of 1.0016 trillion KRW of malignant debt for 3,550 Gyeonggi residents (3,065 personal bankruptcy cases, 485 personal rehabilitation cases).
The center currently functions as "Gyeonggi Province Residents' Debt Escape 119" through three major projects: ▲ prevention of malignant debt expansion ▲ liberation from malignant debt ▲ linkage to welfare services for a fresh start. Free consultation reservations can be made at '1899-6014'.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
