Disparities in Personal Bankruptcy Processing Times Across Regions

Amid rising inflation and interest rates, applications for rehabilitation and bankruptcy are increasing, revealing significant disparities in processing times across different courts.

An analysis by Yonhap News of data submitted by the Supreme Court's Court Administration Office to Rep. Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party shows that in the first half of this year, the processing times for rehabilitation and bankruptcy cases varied by as much as 4.6 times across the country.

For personal rehabilitation, the Chuncheon District Court had the shortest processing time at 2.9 months, followed by the Suwon District Court at 4 months, the Incheon District Court at 4.5 months, and the Seoul District Court at 4.9 months. In contrast, the Daegu District Court took 12 months, while the Uijeongbu District Court had the longest at 13.2 months, which is 4.6 times longer than Chuncheon and double the national average of 6.4 months.

While the average processing times for other bankruptcy and rehabilitation procedures have decreased, the average time for personal rehabilitation has increased from 5.8 months in 2024 to 6.4 months in both last year and the first half of this year. In the first half of this year, personal bankruptcy cases took the shortest time at the Busan District Court, which processed cases in 1.8 months, while the Seoul District Court took 2.2 months. Conversely, the Daejeon District Court had the longest processing time at 5.1 months, approximately 2.8 times longer than Busan.

The average processing time for personal bankruptcy has decreased from 4.4 months in 2023 to 3.1 months in the first half of this year.

Disparities were also evident in corporate rehabilitation and bankruptcy cases. For corporate rehabilitation, the Suwon District Court averaged 0.9 months, and the Seoul District Court averaged 1.1 months, while the Jeju District Court took 3.7 months, about 4.1 times longer than Suwon. In corporate bankruptcy, the Suwon and Daejeon District Courts each took 1 month, and the Seoul District Court took 1.2 months, while the Jeju District Court took 4 months, showing a fourfold difference.

Rep. Seo Young-kyo stated, "Regardless of where they live, debtors should be guaranteed a swift opportunity to recover. The Court Administration Office must develop specific measures to address the delays in certain courts."