Korea recoups 93.6 tln won in public funds

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has so far recovered 93.6 trillion won
(US$75.5 billion) in funds spent to rescue troubled financial companies since the
1997-98 Asian financial crisis, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.
The country recouped 55.6 percent of a total of 168.5 trillion won in public
money as of the end of March, up from 55.5 percent a month earlier, according to
the Financial Services Commission.
In March, a total of 1.5 billion won was extended from the public funds while a
combined 66.5 billion won was returned to the fund, the watchdog said.
The government established the bail-out fund along with a state-run security
insurance firm and the central bank in late 1997 to buy companies' troubled
assets and inject emergent capital to prevent bankruptcies amid the 1997
financial crisis.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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