The government has extended a subscription for individual savings accounts (ISAs), or a tax-exempt savings scheme, by three years to the end of 2021, as it seeks to promote the scheme, a financial market source said Monday.
ISAs were introduced in March 2016 as part of the government's efforts to help individuals increase their wealth.
Customers can benefit from tax exemptions on up to 2 million won (US$1,773) of capital gains from investments they have held for at least five years, plus lower commissions and fees. Subscriptions for ISAs had been scheduled to end by the end of this year.
The extension came after people have shunned the savings scheme amid lower-than-expected returns.
The number of ISAs peaked at 2.4 million in November 2016 and has steadily declined since then.
At the end of October this year, the number of ISAs stood at 2.13 million, according to official data.
As the stock market remained bearish this year, the six-month average return rate of 204 ISAs stood at minus 4.77 percent at the end of October this year. (yonhap)