South Korea has recouped 69.5 percent of the public funds it spent to bail out troubled financial and other firms since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the financial regulator said Wednesday.

South Korea had retrieved 117.2 trillion won ($99.3 billion) out of the 168.7 trillion won in state funds spent to save firms from bankruptcy as of the end of June, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

The recovery rate marks a slight rise from the 69.2 percent recorded at the end of 2019, the FSC said. (Yonhap)