Unclaimed Depositor Funds of 3.9 Billion Won Without Owner Found

Kang Min-guk "Issues with Forecast Payment Efforts and Approach"

It has been confirmed that the amount of unclaimed money that depositors should receive from bankrupt financial companies is approaching 4 billion KRW.

According to data requested by the office of Kang Min-guk, a member of the People Power Party, from the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation on the 14th, as of the end of August, the unclaimed amount for depositors was 3.9 billion KRW, with 45,000 unclaimed cases.

Unclaimed depositor funds refer to the amounts that depositors are legally entitled to receive due to bank bankruptcies but have not yet claimed. These consist of deposit insurance payments, which the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation pays up to 50 million KRW on behalf of depositors; bankruptcy dividends, which are partial payments made by liquidating assets according to bankruptcy procedures for deposits exceeding 50 million KRW; and estimated payment settlements, where the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation advances expected bankruptcy dividends to depositors.

By type, estimated payment settlements accounted for the largest portion at 2 billion KRW (6,000 cases), followed by bankruptcy dividends at 1.9 billion KRW (39,000 cases). There were no unclaimed deposit insurance payments.

The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation's performance in recovering unclaimed funds has also been declining. In 2016, the amount recovered for depositors was approximately 73.4 billion KRW (19,800 cases), but this decreased to 2.1 billion KRW (1,800 cases) in 2019 and 2 billion KRW (2,000 cases) in 2021. Last year, it recorded 400 million KRW (1,400 cases), and this year, up to August, only 300 million KRW (700 cases) has been recovered.

Unclaimed depositor funds revert to the national treasury after 10 years according to the Debtor Rehabilitation Act and the Deposit Act.

Assemblyman Kang Min-guk stated, "The significant recent decline in recovery performance indicates insufficient payment efforts and problematic approaches by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation. Considering that unclaimed depositors are distributed nationwide, it is necessary to diversify promotional media such as local government media boards and expand payment agencies. It is also urgent to complete a system that allows inquiry and application via mobile devices."