A homeless Korean man, unable to withdraw his life savings because he could not remember his real name, has died in poverty.
The man, believed to be aged 56, died of cancer last month, leaving 128 million won, equivalent to $172,000, in a bank account that was opened in 1993 under the alias of Na Hae-Dong.
The account was frozen several months later when a law took effect to ban accounts held under false names as an anti-corruption measure.
Deposits were still allowed but the account holder had to register a real name to withdraw money, something "Na" could not do.
"He didn't know what his real name was or where he was born. We tried but failed to identify him," Yoo Joon-Soo, the senior official of Yongbong district in the city of Gwangju, said.
The man collected scrap iron and other junk and slept on his cart under plastic sheets before moving in 2007 into a makeshift shelter made from a shipping container.
Though he could not withdraw from the account, he kept putting in savings.
"He used to say he wanted to buy a home with his savings," Mr Yoo said.
"Last month, we applied for court approval to create his new ID and the court procedure was under way."
A local court is expected to order that the savings revert to the state, he added.
