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According to data released on the 28th by Democratic Party lawmaker Son Myung-soo, the number of dormant accounts at the five major banks—KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup—has reached 15,529,132, with a total balance of 108.71 billion won. This figure is as of the end of June, showing a gradual decrease from 16,077,129 accounts at the end of 2021, but only about 550,000 accounts have decreased over the past four and a half years.
Looking at each bank, Hana Bank has the highest number of dormant accounts at 6,078,021, followed by Kookmin Bank with 4,389,455, Nonghyup Bank with 3,052,585, Woori Bank with 1,581,268, and Shinhan Bank with 427,803. In the first half of this year, 63,431 cases of dormant deposits were refunded to customers, totaling 10.7775 billion won, while dormant deposits contributed to the Financial Consumer Agency amounted to 38,169 cases, reaching 35.86257 billion won, which is about 3.3 times the refunded amount.
Notably, the amount contributed in the first half of this year has already exceeded last year's total. Lawmaker Son Myung-soo emphasized that the issue of dormant deposits is directly related to the protection of consumers' property rights, arguing that financial authorities and institutions need to strengthen prior notifications and simplify refund procedures. He stated that he would continuously check the effectiveness of the system to ensure that rightful owners can easily retrieve their deposits. There is a growing call to enhance the guidance for checking and retrieving forgotten financial assets.