Securities market analysts said that the remaining bonds, worth more than W1 trillion, are likely to be used as a financial tactic for rich people to avoid inheritance taxes. The analysts said amount of bondholders who did not seek redemption indicates that they weren't holding bearer bonds as investments.

An official at the Korea Securities Finance Corp. (KSFC) said Friday that the amount of bearer bonds that were called for redemption at 11 brokerage houses reached only 34 percent of the total as of Thursday evening. He estimated that the rate for redemption calls would reach 40 to 50 percent at most when the redemption applications close on Friday.

The government sold the bonds in 1998, when the country had been undergoing a financial crisis, to bring out into the open the massive underground fund. Buyers of the bonds were not required to clarify the sources of their fund. Market observers at that time said that wealthy persons mostly bought the bonds as a way to pay less tax on inheritance or donations. (Ko Jong-won, ko@chosun.com )