S. Korea expands reverse mortgage scheme amid economic slump

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to expand its so-called reverse
mortgage plan as the economy continues to slide and more seniors lose their jobs,
the country's financial regulator said Wednesday.
The plan, which allows elderly citizens to borrow money against the value of
their homes, was first introduced in 2007.
According to the Financial Services Commission, the minimum age requirement for
beneficiaries of the plan will be lowered to 60 from the current 65, while home
owners will receive up to 500 million won (US$341,000), an increase from the
current 300 million won.
South Korea's economy is slowing at a faster than expected pace as exports slump
amid weakening domestic demand caused by the global recession, the nation's top
economic policymaker said earlier in the day.
Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun recently downgraded the government's target
growth rate for 2009 from an earlier forecast of 3 percent growth to a
contraction of 2 percent.
In the final quarter of last year, the economy contracted 5.6 percent from three
months earlier, the sharpest contraction in more than a decade.
sam@yna.co.kr
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