Debt securities in the Republic of Korea are classified into two major categories: government bonds and corporate bonds. These include asset-backed securities, which may be in the form of mortgage-backed securities; collateral debt obligations; and asset-backed securities.

Government bonds are classified into three categories: (i) central government bonds, (ii) central bank bonds, and (iii) finance debentures.

Central government bonds consist of treasury offerings and foreign exchange stabilization bonds issued by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF). The MOSF issues treasury bonds with maturities of 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 years. Three-year and five-year tenors are considered the benchmark.

Special public bonds, such as those issued by the Korea National Housing Corp and municipal bonds, form part of the central government bond market.

Central bank bonds include monetary stabilization bonds issued by the Bank of Korea (BOK) to help absorb liquidity in support of its monetary policy. Monetary stabilization bonds are discount and coupon instruments with various tenors ranging from 14 days to 2 years.

Industrial finance debentures issued by the Korea Development Bank (KDB) are also classified as government bonds. Financial debentures are bonds issued by financial institutions and are either discount bonds, compound bonds, or coupon bonds.

Corporate bonds include special public bonds issued by state-owned entities; financial debentures other than those issued by KDB; and other corporate issues, which may be guaranteed or non-guaranteed. Most corporate bonds are non-guaranteed with three-year maturities.

Corporate issues also include asset-backed securities, which may be in the form of mortgage-backed securities, collateral debt obligations, and asset-backed securities.

Mortgage-backed securities are issued by the Korea Housing Finance Corporation. The Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation also issue asset-backed securities to recapitalize troubled financial institutions. The terms and structures of these securitization deals can be found by following the link provided below.

Asset-backed securities issued by financial institutions and non-financial private companies include securities backed by credit card receivables, future trade receivables, and various types of leases and loans. Cross-border asset-backed securities (asset-backed securities issued in foreign currencies) are also an emerging type of securitization. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) report linked below shows the types of asset-backed securities by issuer class and assets securitized.