Default rate of corporate bills rises slightly in January

The default rate of corporate bills (bonds, checks and promissory notes) in South Korea reached 0.19 percent in January, a slight increase from 0.17 percent a month earlier, the central bank said.

Companies' dishonored bills were valued at a combined 40.3 million won in January, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said. 

The number of registered defaulting companies, including corporations and private business owners, totaled 67 in January, a level similar to the one recorded in the previous month, the BOK said. They included 25 manufacturing companies, 34 service businesses and five builders.

Newly established corporations totaled 8,070 in number, up from 7,889 a month earlier, the central bank said.