hankyoreh

staff photographer)

Loans of up to 3 million won (US$2,730), available immediately, with no collateral or interest, to be repaid in full from six months to a year later.

On Feb. 25, the Jean Valjean Bank opened for business. The bank provides loans to individuals who would otherwise have to do hard labor because they are too poor to pay a few million won in fines.

The loans are designed for people who find themselves unable to pay a fine for a crime that did little social harm. Priority is given to teenagers living by themselves, recipients of the Basic Livelihood Security Benefits, people living just above the poverty line, and minors.

The bank takes its name from the main character of the novel “Les Miserables,” who is thrown into prison for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister’s seven starving children.

The founders of Jean Valjean Bank, which they call “a human credit bank,” held a press conference at the Manhae NGO Education Center in the Jangchung neighborhood of Seoul on the morning of Feb. 25 to explain how they plan to run the bank and issue loans.

“In South Korean society, poverty itself is a punishment. Through the Jean Valjean Bank, we hope to do our part to move away from a world in which money can rob freedom,” the management said during the press conference.

The bank will be advised by Peter Kang U-il, bishop at the Jeju Diocese of the Catholic Church and managed by Hong Se-hwa, the director of a cooperative called The Edge (Gajangjari in Korean).

When an individual is sentenced to pay a fine, they have to pay the entire sum in cash within 30 days. While there are programs for paying fines in installments or for postponing the deadline, these are only granted in exceptional cases when there is some special reason. Around 40,000 people each year are sent to the workhouse because they cannot pay their fines.

“A lot of the people who are doing hard labor because they can’t pay the fines are members of the working class. Most of them are in poor health, so even after they enter the workhouse, it costs more to take care of them. I hope the loans from the Jean Valjean Bank will give such people a chance to remain part of society and to find a job that’s right for them,” said Song Yeong-sam, a member of the bank’s operating committee. Song is a former director of the Gwangju Branch of Korea Correctional Service.

The bank will fund the loans it provides by donations from the public. As of Wednesday, it had already raised 6.45 million won (US$5,871).

“Once we raise 10 million won, we will start issuing loans,” said Oh Chang-ik, secretary general for Human Rights Solidarity and a member of the loan review board.

The bank does not accept applications from people convicted of murder, armed robbery, sexual assault, and bribes, from repeat offenders, and from people fined for participating in protests or demonstrations.

Donations can be wired to Jean Valjean Bank at Hana Bank, account number 388-910009-23604.

By Choi Woo-ri, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]