South Korea's top lender Kookmin Bank approved a debt workout program for Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co., a bank official said Wednesday, a move that could prompt other banks to join efforts to salvage the troubled builder.

"We reached a conclusion to consent to the program through a vote" after two days of intense debate," a Kookmin Bank official said, citing policy.

The decision by Kookmin Bank, which has a 7.95 percent voting right among creditor banks, could push Shinhan Bank, South Korea's No. 3 lender, to agree to the program meant to keep the builder afloat. Shinhan Bank is scheduled to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss the matter.

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea has decided to support the builder while Hana Bank, the country's third-largest lender, and Seoul Guarantee Insurance Co., a credit guarantee company, said they would follow the decision of major creditor banks.

Woori Bank, the main creditor bank with a 24.22 percent voting right, has suggested that it would endorse the debt workout program for Ssangyong E&C.

The program requires 75 percent consent from creditors, and it calls for a debt-to-equity swap worth 107 billion won ($94 million) and fresh liquidity injections of 445 billion won.

Ssangyong said the debt workout program, if approved, could give a boost to its efforts to turn around the company.

"The decision to approve the program could help our overseas business and lay the foundation for normalization of our company," Ssangyong spokesman Cho Dae-hee said. (Yonhap News)