[2026 National Assembly Audit] Korea Trade Insurance Corporation's Overseas Receivables Recovery Rate Just 8.2% Over Past Five Years... "Management System Needs Improvement"

Rep. Jung Jinwook Raises Issue at Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee Audit
Only KRW 9.1 Billion Recovered from KRW 111.5 Billion in Overseas Receivables Over the Past Five Years or So
"We Must Do More Than Simply Entrust Overseas Collection Agencies with Recovering These Claims"

The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation supports export companies in recovering overseas receivables, but its recovery rate over the past five years or so has been just 8.2%, according to data.

According to data submitted by the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation to Jung Jinwook, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, the total value of claims entrusted to its overseas receivables recovery support program from 2021 through August 2026 was KRW 111.51 billion, but the amount actually recovered was only KRW 9.12 billion. From 2004 through August 2026, KRW 18.73 billion was recovered out of KRW 390.98 billion in cumulative entrusted claims, leaving the cumulative recovery rate at just 4.8%.

Jung Jinuk, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea.

“Our export companies are struggling because they have not been paid for goods overseas. The fact that the recovery rate for overseas receivables has been just 8.2% over the past five years or so is a serious issue that needs to be examined,” Jung said. “I understand the practical constraints that make recovery difficult, including differences in national laws and debt-collection environments, but we must do more than simply entrust overseas collection agencies with recovering these claims.”

Jung added, “Since 90% of overseas receivables collection work is concentrated among the top four agencies, their recovery performance and processing times must be thoroughly evaluated, and oversight of underperforming agencies must be strengthened. The likelihood of recovering long-overdue receivables should be reassessed regularly, and recovery strategies and follow-up management systems tailored to the characteristics of each country should be established.”

Recovery results varied significantly by country. From 2021 through August 2026, the recovery rate was 91.3% in Brazil, 77.3% in Chile, and 70.8% in Italy. By contrast, the rate was just 3.5% in China and 11.3% in the United States.

In particular, there were 34 countries where claims had been entrusted for collection but the recovery rate was recorded as 0%. According to Jung, recovery assistance was provided for overseas receivables worth KRW 6.9 billion in Qatar, KRW 4.74 billion in Argentina, and KRW 2.89 billion in Canada, but nothing was recovered. In China, too, only KRW 860 million was recovered from claims totaling KRW 24.48 billion.

“The problem is that even when an overseas collection agency performs poorly, it is not easy to transfer cases already in progress to another agency,” Jung said. “The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation’s overseas receivables recovery program is centered on ‘amicable collection,’ which seeks voluntary repayment through contact and negotiation with debtors. When legal action would not be worthwhile, or further recovery is difficult because the debtor has ceased operations or cannot be contacted, collection is closed after confirming the export company’s wishes.”

Jung also said that statistics and management systems for long-overdue receivables need to be improved. “Receivables that have remained unrecovered for a long time or for which collection has been closed continue to be included in the cumulative total of entrusted claims, while the amount recovered reflects only sums actually collected. This makes it difficult to distinguish the recovery performance of newly entrusted claims from the management performance for long-overdue receivables,” he said. “To improve the effectiveness of overseas receivables recovery support, the system as a whole needs to be improved by tracking recovery results by year of entrustment and managing long-overdue receivables separately, rather than relying solely on the cumulative recovery rate, and by incorporating collection agencies’ performance evaluations into the assignment of new cases.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.