President Wi Sung-baek of Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.(KDIC). (Photos: KDIC)

KDIC announced on March 30 that the total amount of its insured deposits stood at 2,534 trillion won at the end of 2020, up 12.5 percent from a year before, according to KDIC’s report titled “2020 Year-End Insured Deposits.”

Banks and financial investment firms took the lead in expanding the balance. The amount means that KDIC logged the largest increase in its balance of total insured deposits in 10 years, after a 13.7 percent jump in 2010.

This trend is attributed to an increase in market funds due to the Korean government’s liquidity enhancement policy to cope with the expansion of economic uncertainties at home and abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial investment firms’ insured deposits rose 135 percent to 74.5 trillion won, from 31.7 trillion won a year earlier, thanks to a boom in the stock market.

The figure eclipsed 71.3 trillion won by savings banks for the first time. In addition, banks’ and savings banks’ insured deposits grew 14.7 percent and 15.9 percent year-on-year, respectively, while the growth of insurers’ insured deposits continued to slow as low interest rates dampened the growth of the long-term insurance market.

On the other hand, KDIC announced in March that it plans to improve its headquarters by turning it into a ‘Green New Deal building’ by installing eco-friendly facilities using green energy technology.

To this end, the company recently built solar power generation facilities and electric vehicle charging stations.

Sixty-two solar panels were installed in the building’s lot. They will produce about 34,000 kilowatts of electricity annually by receiving sunlight.

Their electricity will be used for the operation of air conditioning and heating systems for workers such as cleaners, pregnant employees and patients with mild symptoms.

A solar power generator and electric vehicle charging station at KDIC Headquarters Building.

In addition, KDIC set up a rapid charging station for electric vehicles and opened it to the private sector to help supply power to eco-friendly cars.

The station has facilities that can charge three electric vehicles simultaneously. General drivers can easily use the charging station with KEPCO’s mobile application.

In addition, KDIC is responding to the Green New Deal policy by replacing its 12 company vehicles with eco-friendly cars (nine hybrid cars and three electric vehicles).

“As the office building is adjacent to Cheonggyecheon Stream with large traffic volume, general users are expected to use our electric vehicle charging station,” said Wi Sung-baek, president of KDIC.

“As a public institution, we will continue to make efforts to help make the Green New Deal policies pay off down the road.”

In the meantime, KDIC announced in mid-March that it will suspend debt repayment by financially marginalized groups which have difficulties in repaying their debts due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic for another year.

KDIC says it will extend grace periods for debtors who agreed to repay their debts in installments through KDIC’s debt adjustment system for up to 12 months.

The KDIC suspended debt repayment for up to 12 months in March 2020 as economic conditions worsened due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

As a result, the first repayment grace period was scheduled to come to an end in March but KDIC decided to extend the repayment grace period once again, believing that debtor’s ability to repay the debtor did not fully recovered due to the prolonged pandemic.

Therefore, debt grace periods of up to 12 months will be given to debtors who signed remission agreements through KDIC’s debt adjustment system for the second time or those who have newly applied for a debt grace period for the first time.