Housing Finance Corporation Supports Customers in Wildfire-Affected Areas with Principal Repayment Deferrals and More

Korea Housing Finance Corporation announced on the 14th that it has prepared product-specific support measures, such as principal repayment deferral, for customers of Bogeumjari Loan, Housing Pension, and Housing Guarantee who suffered damage from the large-scale wildfires that occurred last month.

The target areas are those designated by the government as special disaster zones, including Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang, Yeongdeok, and Uiseong in Gyeongbuk; Sancheong and Hadong in Gyeongnam; and Ulju in Ulsan.

The Korea Housing Finance Corporation supports Bogeumjari Loan and qualified loan users within the special disaster zones to apply for principal repayment deferral within one year from the date of damage if the residence of the borrower or their family was affected by the wildfire. For the following three years, only interest payments are required without principal repayment. Additionally, if the borrower's residence or other assets such as farmland were damaged by the wildfire, early repayment fees will be waived.

Additional guarantees will be allowed for customers with jeonse (monthly deposit lease) guarantees. For existing jeonse guarantee customers who suffered wildfire damage and need to rent a new jeonse, additional guarantees will be permitted. New jeonse guarantee customers will be exempt from credit evaluation and repayment ability screening. For homeowners whose houses were destroyed or damaged, guarantee fees for construction, renovation, or purchase funds will be reduced by 0.1 percentage points.

If a house enrolled in the Housing Pension was destroyed or damaged by wildfire making it uninhabitable, monthly Housing Pension payments will be temporarily provided for one year. If the Housing Pension is canceled, a partial refund of the initial guarantee fee will be made reflecting the usage period.

The principal of bad debts under the Housing Guarantee will be further reduced by up to 10 percentage points. If a debtor who used the Corporation’s housing guarantee products such as jeonse guarantee fails to repay a loan to a financial institution and the Corporation repaid it on their behalf, and the debtor suffered wildfire damage, the basic principal reduction rate during debt adjustment of written-off debts (debts excluded from assets in accounting due to uncollectibility) can be increased by up to 10 percentage points. Furthermore, debtors residing in special disaster zones who are already repaying debts in installments may defer repayment for up to two years.

To receive such support, a damage confirmation certificate issued by local governments is required. The Korea Housing Finance Corporation operates a dedicated consultation window for wildfire-affected customers at its call center.

In addition, the Corporation donated 50 million KRW to help the prompt recovery of wildfire-affected areas and the restoration of daily life for disaster victims.