A file photo of South Korean banknotes. A church-funded microcredit scheme in South Korea lends money to small-time offenders who unable to pay their fines. (Photo by Jung Yeon-Je/AFP)
More than 400 hundred small-time criminal offenders in South Korea have been assisted by a credit scheme set up by the Catholic Church that helps them to pay off their fines and avoid jail time.
Named the Jean Valjean Bank, after the main character from 'Les Miserables' who spent 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, the microcredit scheme came into being because thousands of small-time offenders were being imprisoned for being unable to pay their fines. To pay off their fines they had to do forced labor.
Established in February 2015, the scheme has offered 429 small-time offenders loans totaling US$720,000. Of that number 59 debtors have fully paid back their loan. The bank's seed money was collected from 3,979 donors, parishes and institutions.
Bishop Peter Kang U-il of Cheju is an advisor to the bank that is supervised by a steering committee of 10 members including Father Elias Lim Yong-hwan, former director of Catholic Urban Poor Pastoral Committee of Seoul Archdiocese, and Teresa Ahn Curie, professor at the Catholic University of Korea.
"If the criminal offenders who have to go prison due to unfair reasons disappear, our bank will naturally close its door. I wish the day would come soon," said Luke Oh Chang-ik, a member of the loan appraisal committee.