Korea Offshore Bond Sales Jump to $24 Billion as Maturities Loom

South Korean borrowers rushed to issue bonds in the offshore market in late March, shrugging off Iran war concerns to secure record issuance volumes ahead of unprecedented maturities in 2026.

State agencies, companies and the government sold about $24 billion of international bonds in the first three months of the year, a 42% jump from a year earlier and the largest first-quarter tally since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 1999. Several heavyweights — including Korea Development Bank and LG Energy Solution — tapped markets in the past two weeks.