Eligible fixed-term deposits at a covered South Korean institution are generally protected up to KRW 100 million per depositor, per institution. The limit includes eligible principal and designated interest, and the KRW 100 million ceiling has applied since September 1, 2025, including to accounts opened before that date. It is not a KRW 100 million allowance for every account, and it does not insure every product sold through a bank.
What the KRW 100 million limit actually covers
South Korea’s statutory deposit-protection limit rose from KRW 50 million to KRW 100 million on September 1, 2025. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) described the increase for covered banks, savings banks, insurance companies and financial investment businesses under the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) system. Government guidance also addresses specified mutual finance institutions that use their own central or federation protection funds.
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The legal unit is the depositor at one covered institution. If you hold several eligible fixed deposits at the same institution, their protected balances are combined. You cannot obtain a separate KRW 100 million ceiling simply by opening several certificates, term-deposit accounts or savings accounts under your name.
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How the limit is counted
| Situation | How the ceiling applies |
|---|---|
| Three eligible fixed deposits at one covered bank | Combine the eligible balances and designated interest; one KRW 100 million ceiling applies. |
| Eligible deposits at two different covered institutions | Each institution is assessed separately, so each may have its own KRW 100 million ceiling, subject to product eligibility. |
| An account opened before September 1, 2025 | The increased ceiling applies from September 1, 2025; the account is not limited permanently to the former KRW 50 million amount. |
| A product whose return depends on market performance | It is not treated as an insured deposit merely because it was purchased through a bank or held in a bank-related account. |
Which institutions and products are eligible?
Institution categories named in official guidance
Official FSC and government material identifies KDIC-covered banks and savings banks as covered categories. The same material discusses eligible products at covered insurance companies and financial investment businesses, while specified mutual finance institutions are protected through their respective central or federation arrangements rather than necessarily through the identical operating structure.
Coverage is therefore not determined by the word “deposit” in an advertisement or by the fact that a familiar financial group distributes the account. Check the institution’s current deposit-protection notice and the terms for the specific account. The notice should identify whether the product is a protected principal-guaranteed deposit and which protection system applies.
Principal-guaranteed deposit versus investment product
A fixed-term deposit normally promises repayment of principal under its account contract, subject to the institution’s terms. By contrast, a fund, security or other investment whose payout changes with an underlying asset’s performance is not converted into an insured deposit by being sold at a bank branch, in a banking app or inside an account wrapper. A market-linked return, fund price or investment loss is not covered by the statutory deposit ceiling.
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- Look for the institution’s deposit-protection mark or written notice, not just a high advertised rate.
- Confirm the legal entity accepting the money; two brands or branches may belong to the same institution for aggregation purposes.
- Read whether the product is principal-guaranteed and classified as a protected deposit.
- For mutual finance institutions, identify the relevant federation or central-fund arrangement stated in the product documents.
- Do not assume that every cash-like product, fund, note or structured investment is insured.
How to calculate your protected amount
Use a balance worksheet for each institution. Start with every eligible account held by the same depositor, add the eligible principal, then add the designated interest used by the protection rules. Compare that total with KRW 100 million.
- Group accounts by legal institution. Put all eligible fixed deposits and other eligible deposits at Institution A together, then repeat for Institution B and so on.
- Record principal for each account. Use the amount that is actually an eligible deposit, not the market value of an investment product.
- Add designated interest. The protected-interest calculation is prescribed by the rules and is not necessarily identical to every amount shown by the account’s contractual maturity calculation.
- Compare each institutional total with KRW 100 million. The amount above the ceiling is not covered by deposit protection.
- Recheck after interest accrues or an account renews. A balance that was below the limit at opening can exceed it later.
Worked examples
Example 1: several accounts at one bank. Suppose a depositor has fixed deposits with principals of KRW 45 million, KRW 30 million and KRW 20 million at the same covered bank. The principal total is KRW 95 million. Once designated interest is included, the protected total can exceed KRW 100 million, so the entire contractual balance is not automatically covered. Opening the deposits as three accounts does not create three ceilings.
Example 2: deposits split between institutions. A depositor has KRW 80 million in eligible deposits at Institution A and KRW 80 million at Institution B. If both institutions and products qualify, the institution-level assessment is separate. The depositor still must verify each institution’s legal coverage and account classification; the result is not based solely on the fact that the two accounts have different names or apps.
Example 3: interest consumes capacity. If eligible principal is KRW 99 million, even a relatively small amount of designated interest can push the covered total above KRW 100 million. The usable principal that can fit entirely inside the ceiling is therefore less than KRW 100 million whenever interest is expected to count.
How designated interest is determined
The FSC FAQ explains that the protection calculation uses a prescribed interest amount rather than automatically guaranteeing every future unit of contractual interest. For banks and savings banks, the described method uses the lower of the contracted rate and a rate determined by KDIC. This matters when an account’s advertised or contract rate is higher than the rate used for the protection calculation. Do not represent all maturity interest as insured beyond the KRW 100 million ceiling.
When does deposit protection apply?
Protection becomes relevant when a covered financial institution cannot return deposits because of an event such as suspension of business or bankruptcy. The FSC’s explanation concerns the institution’s inability to repay depositors, not an everyday change in the account’s rate or value.
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Deposit protection is not:
- insurance against an early-withdrawal penalty;
- a guarantee that a fixed rate will remain available after maturity or renewal;
- protection from exchange-rate movements or inflation;
- coverage for losses in a fund, security or market-linked investment;
- a promise that every amount above KRW 100 million will be recovered.
The protection system addresses eligible deposits within the statutory limit. It does not eliminate the ordinary contractual conditions of the account, such as maturity date, withdrawal restrictions or the rate applied when money is withdrawn early.
What to check before opening a fixed deposit
Use this sequence before transferring money:
- Identify the institution. Record the legal name, not only the app, branch or financial-group name.
- Read the protection notice. Confirm that the institution is in a covered category or that a specified mutual-finance federation arrangement applies.
- Classify the product. Verify that it is a principal-guaranteed deposit, not a fund or investment whose payout depends on performance.
- Map your existing balances. Add all eligible deposits already held at that institution under the same depositor name.
- Leave room for designated interest. Do not set principal at exactly KRW 100 million if you want the whole balance, including interest recognized by the rules, to remain within the ceiling.
- Review access terms separately. Check maturity, automatic renewal, early-withdrawal conditions and any account-specific restrictions. These terms determine whether the account suits your cash needs but do not increase the insurance ceiling.
- Save the documents. Keep the account confirmation, protection notice and maturity statement so your balances can be reconstructed if the institution later has difficulty returning deposits.
How to spread deposits without misunderstanding the rule
Using more than one institution can create more than one institution-level ceiling, but only when each institution and each product is covered. This is a risk-management choice, not a way to multiply coverage inside one institution.
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When planning a ladder of maturities, first assign each account to its legal institution. Then estimate the principal plus designated interest at each maturity. A ladder may improve access to cash and reduce the need to break every deposit early, but it does not change the KRW 100 million aggregation rule. If two certificates are issued by the same institution, they remain part of the same institutional total even when their maturity dates differ.
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Do not move money solely because two products display different brand names. Confirm whether the same covered legal entity receives the funds. Conversely, do not treat two institutions as interchangeable merely because they share a parent group; the product documents and protection notices control the classification.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Comparing two fixed-term deposits
The statutory cap answers only whether a balance is protected and how much of it fits under the ceiling. It does not tell you which account is best for your circumstances. Compare accounts in this order:
| Comparison question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Is the institution covered? | An attractive rate is irrelevant to the statutory protection if the institution or product is outside the applicable system. |
| Is the account a protected principal-guaranteed deposit? | A fund or performance-linked investment is not insured merely because a bank distributes it. |
| What is your combined eligible balance there? | All eligible deposits at that institution count toward one KRW 100 million ceiling. |
| How much designated interest will count? | Interest can push a near-limit principal above the protected amount, and the prescribed calculation may differ from the advertised contractual total. |
| When can you access the money? | Maturity and early-withdrawal rules affect liquidity and the cost of using the funds before maturity. |
| What rate and renewal terms apply? | These are account-selection issues and must be read in the current product disclosure; they do not alter the insurance ceiling. |
What changed for older accounts?
The higher ceiling is not restricted to deposits opened on or after September 1, 2025. Official FAQ guidance states that deposits and savings accounts opened before that date also receive protection up to KRW 100 million from the effective date, assuming the institution and product are otherwise eligible.
The change does not retroactively turn an ineligible product into an insured deposit. Nor does it erase the aggregation rule: older and newer eligible accounts at the same institution are still combined, and principal plus designated interest still count toward the one-institution ceiling.
If a covered institution cannot repay you
In an actual suspension or insolvency, rely on the current notices from the institution, KDIC or the relevant mutual-finance federation. The materials establishing the KRW 100 million limit do not provide one universal payout timetable or a complete claim procedure for every type of failure. Procedures can depend on the institution and protection system.
A sensible record-keeping plan is:
- keep recent statements showing account numbers, principals and maturity dates;
- retain the product terms and the deposit-protection notice;
- record which legal institution holds each account;
- check official failure notices for instructions on verification or payment;
- do not rely on an unofficial timetable or assume that an amount above the statutory ceiling will be paid in full.
For a live failure, verify the latest KDIC instructions and the affected institution’s notice before submitting documents, changing a maturity instruction or making a claim. The protection framework is designed for eligible deposits when the institution cannot return them; it is not a substitute for checking the account’s classification before you invest.
Quick Recap
Common mistakes to avoid
- Counting per account: the limit is per depositor per covered institution, not per certificate.
- Ignoring interest: eligible principal and designated interest are counted together.
- Using the old figure: KRW 50 million was the previous ceiling; KRW 100 million has applied since September 1, 2025.
- Assuming a bank-distributed investment is a deposit: performance-linked products are not protected by the deposit rule simply because a bank sold them.
- Assuming a group name proves separate coverage: identify the legal institution and its notice.
- Treating insurance as a rate or liquidity guarantee: the system responds to institutional failure, not early withdrawal, changing rates or market losses.
- Promising a universal payout schedule: official material does not establish one timetable for every insolvency case.
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