Application Process and Repayment

GENERAL PROCESS FOR RECEIVING LOANS

Note: All loan applications must be completed and submitted through KOSAF’s Korean website (http://www.kosaf.go.kr/). Students who plan to apply for KOSAF loans should refer to the detailed application instructions and descriptions on the Korean site. The process described here is generalized, and each step may or may not be included in any one particular loan program.

• 1.Obtain official digital identification verification (issued in the applicant’s name).
• 2.Applicants register online to obtain ID and password.
• 3.Applicants fill out applications online and submit accompanying documents.
• 4.KOSAF reviews applicants’ qualifications and makes decisions.
• 5.KOSAF notifies applicants of the results.
• 6.Approved applicants file for requests for loans.
• 7.Loans are disbursed to applicants.

LOAN REPAYMENT

The borrower is responsible for repaying in full the loan principal and, for applicable loans, the interest accrued from the time that the loan was first made until the specified time in the terms of the loan. According to the respective repayment terms and conditions of the loan program, repayment may be deferred.

Income Contingent Loan (ICL)
Compulsory repayment: From the point when the borrower’s financial means exceeds threshold for repayment, the borrower is under obligation to make fixed payments on the loan principal and/or the interest. · Financial means includes various types of income (earned income, business income, annuity income, and retirement income) as well as the increases in assets such as inheritance, donation, etc.

Voluntary repayment : The borrower, irrespective of income earned, may make payments on the loan principal and/or the interest.

Direct Loan (DL)
The borrower may select a grace period of 10 years or less during which payments only need to be made on the interest on the loan. As soon as the grace period, the borrower must complete repayment of the loan in its entirety (both the loan principal and the accrued interest) within 10 years.

Loan for Rural Students (LRS)
There is a grace period of 2 years that begins after the student graduates. The number of school semesters during which the borrower received the loan determines the number of years allowed for repayment. (If the borrower received a loan for 3 school semesters, the borrower’s repayment period is 3 years.) After 2012, borrowers repay the loans only in monthly installments.