Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Rae]

Are there any risks associated with keeping an empty Korean bank account open after leaving the country? I highly doubt I'll be back but my sometimes my boyfriend's company sends him to Korea for work. I was thinking of keeping it open in case we'll need it later for whatever reason.

Do people normally close their bank accounts or just leave it open?

Thanks!

[Chuvok]

No risks, I imagine. If there is still money in the account, it will be kept open. Just log into your online account once in a while to be sure its still up and running.

Just don't get overdrawn. This happened to me with my Canadian account. I didn't realise I was being 'dinged' with an international banking fee on every transaction, and my account went into the red by a few dollars. The bank froze my account thinking it was some sort of scammer bleeding the account dry from Russia.

If there is no account activity for more than 12 months, the account will probably go dormant, and you'll have to call the bank to "wake it up" again.

But, I'm no expert on Korean banks. You should probably ask your bank about it.

[OiGirl]

I left an account open with less than 10,000 won for about five years with no activity. No problems using it again at a later date.