A new study has accused the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s collateral system of favoring high-carbon assets over green bonds, arguing that the framework could effectively provide an "implicit subsidy" to fossil fuel and other carbon-intensive industries. The study, released Monday by London-based nonprofit Positive Money and Seoul-based Institute for Green Transformation (IGT), found that 53 percent of corporate and public-institution bonds recognized as collateral by the BOK in 2025 came from fossil fuel and other high-emission sectors. Green and sustainability bonds accounted for just about 2 percent. The analysis covered 1,368 bonds using BOK data obtained through Rep. Jung Tae-ho of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, according to the researchers. The BOK accepts bonds and other assets as collateral when providing liquidity to financial institutions. It applies so-called "haircuts" to account for potential risks, meaning it discounts the value of an asset when determining how much it can be used as collateral. The study found that green bonds had an average haircut of 8.7 percent in 2025, ro