North Korean defectors are resorting more to non-bank loans with higher rates of interest than native South Koreans, making it harder for them to service their debts, a central bank report showed Thursday.
The finding is the result of an analysis by the Bank of Korea on 3,161 North Korean defectors and their financial activities between 2010 and 2017. These numbers were compared with native South Koreans with similar economic conditions.
According to the report, the value of loans the defectors got from the South's secondary financial institutions, such as credit card firms and savings banks, was two times higher than that of native South Koreans.
In the case of North Koreans with good personal credit ratings, 15.1 percent of their total loans came from the secondary institutions, compared to 3.8 percent among their South Korean peers, the latest findings showed.
(Yonhap)
The defectors who have sound personal credit grades are entitled to borrow money from the banking sector, which provides loans at far lower rates.
"It is mainly attributable to the lack of their knowledge (about the financial system in the capitalistic economy)," said Jeong Seung-ho, a BOK official and one of the authors of the report.
"A mere 3.8 percent of North Koreans had experience in making financial transactions via official institutions when they were back home," he noted.
North Korea, which has a centrally planned economic system, does not allow commercial banks.
The number of North Koreans defaulting on their loans for more than 90 days and falling back on tax payments for over a year was found to be higher than that of South Koreans, and the gap has not narrowed in recent years.
"The default issue is not easy to resolve, as it is closely linked to fundamental economic abilities," Jeong said. He also for the extension of state supportive measures.
The number of defectors in South Korea was 31,340 as of the end of January, according to the unification ministry. (Yonhap)
