S. Korea recoups 62.5% bailout funds

SEOUL - South Korea recouped 62.5 percent of bailout funds injected into domestic financial institutions in late 1997 when the Asian financial crisis occurred, the financial regulator said Thursday.

The South Korean government collected 105.4 trillion won ($94.5 billion) in public funds as of the end of March out of a combined 168.7 trillion won poured since November 1997 when the Asian foreign exchange crisis happened, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

The recovery rate came in at 62.5 percent in late march, little changed from 62.5 percent at the end of 2012 and 60.9 percent as of late-2011.

Meanwhile, the country retrieved 4.23 trillion won in another public fund as of end-March out of the combined 6.17 trillion won used to bail out financial institutions and acquire bad assets from restructuring firms following the 2008 global financial crisis.

The collection rate stood at 68.5 percent in late March, sharply up from 62 percent at the end of 2012 and 26.1 percent as of end-2011. The rate began rising fast from the second half of last year as the maturity date for most of loans fell in late 2012.