S. Korean audit finds borrowers with large crypto holdings received COVID debt relief

The Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) provided principal forgiveness on COVID-19 relief loans to borrowers who were financially capable of repaying their debts, E-Daily reported. According to a regular audit of KAMCO by the Board of Audit and Inspection, 1,944 of the 32,703 recipients of principal reduction were deemed to have a 100% repayment ability. These individuals collectively received 84 billion won ($60.8 million) in debt forgiveness. The audit also found that among a group of recipients who had over 30 million won forgiven, 269 held more than 10 million won in virtual assets at the end of last year. These crypto-holding borrowers received a total of 22.5 billion won ($16.3 million) in principal reductions. In one case, a borrower who received a 120 million won ($87,000) principal reduction in July of last year held 430 million won ($311,000) in crypto assets at year-end.