South Korea recovered 69.6 billion won ($48.4 million) in public bailout funds during the third quarter, lifting the cumulative recovery rate to 73.1%, the Financial Services Commission said. Of the funds raised to clean up failed financial institutions after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, 45 trillion won remains outstanding.
According to the commission's third-quarter report on public fund management released on the 27th, 123.4 trillion won of the 168.7 trillion won injected between November 1997 and the end of September has been recovered.
The cumulative recovery rate stood at 73.1% at the end of September, up 0.4 percentage points from the end of December last year. Equity investments recovered so far this year totaled 820 billion won, exceeding the 800 billion won recouped for all of last year.
Third-quarter recoveries of 69.6 billion won included 19 billion won from the sale of Seoul Guarantee Insurance (031210) shares and 23.7 billion won in dividends, 20 billion won from government bonds repaid by the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives that matured during the quarter, and 6.9 billion won in interest income on loans extended to KR&C, a Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. subsidiary formerly known as Resolution & Finance Corp.
"The government, the deposit insurer and other related agencies will continue working to ensure that repayment of public funds proceeds without disruption, through efficient management and smooth sales of assets they hold, including stakes in financial companies," a commission official said.