The burden on the banks
By propping up companies, South Korea is making things worse, not better
JIN NYUM is a man with a timetable. South Korea's new finance minister wants to complete the reform of the country's battered financial system by February. The government will shortly say how much more money is needed to clean up the banks. The finance ministry used to think that 30 trillion won ($27 billion) would do the trick. Mr Jin will recommend more, but nowhere near the 60 trillion won that some analysts think is needed. Nearly three years after they faced collapse, Korea's banks are still in a mess.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The burden on the banks”
From the September 23rd 2000 edition
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