A homeless man, who was denied access to more than 100 million won he had saved in a bank account since 1993, died of cancer last week.
The man couldn't withdraw the 128 million won ($94,000) in his account because he didn't know his own name.
According to Gwangju police and Gwangju Bank, the man, who didn't have a registered name or ID number, died of pancreatic cancer in a hospital on April 28.
Called Mr. Na by those who knew him, he collected scrap iron and other junk in the daytime and slept on the street at night. Friends said Na had told them he was born on May 23, 1953, but didn't know his real name.
According to the bank, he opened an account under an alias in early 1993. The bank said he continued saving money until recently although his account has been frozen since August 1993, when the real-name account system, introduced by former President Kim Young-sam, took effect.
It'll be up to a court to decide what happens to the money, the article says, but a bank official said the money will probably go to the government.
6 comments:
Wow. I think the real-name system actually has a victim now!
He wouldn't have been a "victim" if he had transferred all that money to a real name account 16 years ago.
He's a victim of his own making, especially since the account has been frozen for most of those 16 years. Who puts money into a frozen account, not being able to ever access it?
"Who puts money into a frozen account, not being able to ever access it?"
A "victim" who was mentally impaired. Where was he living again?
Now that he's dead, they can release the money? Convenient.
Um...am I missing something here? How did they figure out who he was and that it was his account?
Maybe I misread this. I think they point is that he doesn't know his real name. Thus his inability to open an account under his own name, which lacking any records, would be impossible to establish. Sucks for him...
Post a Comment