What happens if you move back to Korea without paying off credit cards ?

By Kim Chul-soo

A 33-year-old Korean man, identified only by his last name Seo, found out the hard way that his credit card debt just does not go away simply by moving to Korea. If they can’t track you down, they’ll get to whomever you might be related to, in order to collect.

Seo had piled up about $9,000 in credit card debt during his six-year stay in Los Angeles, and he was recently notified by his relative in the U.S. that he has been sued by a collection agency.

“I just didn’t have enough money to pay, and I felt bad about that, but I had no idea that they would find out where my relative lived and send a process server there,” Seo said.

Many Koreans in similar situations may figure that as long as they don’t return to the U.S., it may not matter, but according to experts, there have been cases in which a collection agency took the judgment all the way to Korean court to successfully collect.

One other Korean man, Kim, should have known better if he was going to return to the U.S.. He ended up coming back five years later to further his children’s education, only to find that his delinquent account amount had ballooned from $50,000 to more than $200,000.

Attorneys say being delinquent on credit card account is not a criminal but a civil matter, so it does not affect re-entry visa status, but the debt will remain, and the penalty and up to 10 percent annual interest can be added to compound the problem later.

“Only about one out of ten banks or collection agencies actually file lawsuit, but the figure seems to be increasing,” said Los Angeles attorney Teri Lim (Korean name Lim Mi-yeon).

In her office’s case, they receive 7-8 such inquiries per month.

“Once the creditors are successful in getting judgments, not only the amount will increase, but they can renew the judgment every 10 years,” she said. “Bankruptcy is an option, but it would be advisable to consult with an attorney and settle the debt before leaving the country.”