How Gold Came to South Korea’s Rescue
By GCRU Gold News on Thursday, September 29 2016, 04:43 - Permalink
Nineteen years ago, South Korea came precipitously close to bankruptcy.
At the time, it was estimated that South Korean households held roughly $20 billion in gold, in the form of necklaces, coins, bars, trinkets, statuettes, medals, pendants, military insignias and more. Most of it carried strong personal and familial significance, far beyond its monetary value.
Gold again came to Korea’s aid in 1998.
On average, each person donated 65 grams of the yellow metal, or a little over $640 based on prices at the time.
In as little as two months, 226 metric tons, valued at $2.2 billion, were collected, every last scrap of which was melted into ingots and promptly delivered to the IMF.