S Korea recoups 61.6 % bailout funds in July

South Korea recouped 61.6 percent of bailout funds poured into local financial institutions in late 1997 when the Asian financial crisis happened, the financial regulator said Friday. The South Korean government collected 103.8 trillion won (91. 58 billion U.S. dollars) in public funds as of the end of July out of a total of 168.7 trillion won injected since November 1997 when the Asian crisis occurred, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The recovery rate came in at 61.6 percent in late July, up from 60.9 percent seen at the end of last year, the regulator said. Meanwhile, the country retrieved 2,823.6 billion won in another public fund at the end of July out of the combined 6,194.7 billion won used to bail out financial institutions and acquire bad assets from restructuring firms following the 2008 global financial crisis. The collection rate stood at 45.6 percent in late July, sharply up from 33.0 percent two months earlier. The rate began rising fast from the second half as the maturity date for most of loans falls in late 2012.