S. Korea's corporate failures fall in August

By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean corporate bankruptcies dropped to a five-month low in August due mainly to seasonal factors, the central bank said Friday.
The number of companies that went bust decreased by 31 to 178 last month from
July, the lowest level since March, according to the Bank of Korea.
The central bank said working days in August were fewer than in July, which
helped reduce the number of business failures.
The number of start-ups also dropped to 3,713 from 5,006 a month earlier,
reflecting the country's economic slowdown, it said.
South Korea's economic growth has been hit by sluggish private spending, which
declined 0.2 percent in the April-June period from the preceding three months,
the first contraction since 2004.
The default rate on corporate bills -- bonds, checks and promissory notes --
remained flat at 0.02 percent from July, the central bank said.