An entrance to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in the Government Complex Seoul is seen in this undated photo. Courtesy of FSC

The retrieval rate of public funds used to bail out troubled firms inched up from three months earlier in the first quarter, data showed Tuesday.

As of end-March, the government has retrieved 71.5 percent of the 168.7 trillion won ($122.5 billion) injected since November 1997 to help troubled businesses, according to the data from the Financial Services Commission.

The reading marks a 0.01 percentage point increase from three months earlier.

The financial regulator said the government retrieved 136.6 billion won in March by selling the remaining 1.24 percent stake in Woori Financial Group. (Yonhap)