Seoul: About 290,000 people have refinanced their loans worth 16 trillion won (US$11.43 billion) through a state loan exchange program, reducing their interest burdens, the financial regulator said Sunday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the government introduced the online loan refinancing service in May 2023 to help ease public burdens from high interest rates. By the end of October, approximately 290,000 people had switched over to other loan programs with lower rates.

The total amount of loans refinanced came to 16 trillion won, and the lending rates decreased by an average of 1.53 percentage points. This reduction translates to an average savings of 1.76 million won per year for each borrower.

In a continued effort to alleviate interest burdens, the government plans to significantly reduce prepayment fees on loans starting next year. This initiative is expected to halve the total yearly amount of prepayment penalties from 300 billion won to 150 billion won, according to the Financial Services Commis
sion (FSC).