과중채무정리제도에 대한 연구

Over-indebtedness is a crucial matter not only of a debtor but also of a society. This paper aims to identify the reasons why the debtors favor less the legal remedies such as the individual bankruptcy proceeding, the individual rehabilitation proceeding and the individual credit recovery proceeding (so called “individual workout”) and suggest some improvements. This paper consists of five parts. ‘1. Introduction’ shows mechanisms to reschedule over-indebtedness in Korea and explains the methodology adopted in the study. ‘2. Structural Entry Barrier and Cost-benefit’ identifies entry barriers and costs-benefits that are intrinsic in rescheduling mechanisms. ‘3. Entry barrier and Cost-benefit Experienced by Debtors’ is the assessment of questions and opinions posted on the seven internet websites regarding the over-indebtedness, whose members amount to 170,000. ‘4. Proposal for Improvements’ suggests followings: provision of correct information on rescheduling mechanisms, recognition of attorney’s fee as administrative expenses, allowance of increased living expenses, mitigation of requirements for credit recovery support, standardization of bankruptcy practice among courts, and financial transaction after rescheduling. In ‘5. Conclusion,’ the author argues that it is thanks to the competition among rescheduling mechanisms that these mechanisms have been rapidly settled and improved although these proceedings were alien to Korea so that such competition is the key to the improvement.