S. Korean business failures climb in April

SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- The number of South Korean corporate bankruptcies climbed in April from a month earlier due mainly to increased failures by builders, the central bank said Thursday. The number of companies that went belly-up reached 134 last month, up from 120 in March, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The number of corporate bankruptcies rose for the second month in April after hitting a record low of 99 in February. The increase came primarily because more builders went under amid a protracted slump in the real estate market, it added. Meanwhile, the number of newly setup companies came in at 5,583 in April, down from 5,756 in March, according to the BOK. The default rate of corporate bills -- bonds, checks and promissory notes -- reached 0.06 percent last month, compared with 0.02 percent a month earlier, the BOK said.