The name refers to kimchi, a Korean side dish.
[1] Woori Bank, which is credited with coining the term, defines it as solely referring to bonds from foreign issuers, a definition echoed by the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
[2][3] However, in practice, the term is also used to refer to non-won-denominated bond issuance by domestic entities.
[4][5] Deutsche Bank credits itself as having executed the first kimchi bond transaction, a US$100 million two-year floating rate note sold by South Korean company SK Global, but the first foreign company to sell non-won-denominated bonds in the South Korean market was Bear Stearns.
Permission was finally granted due to the strength of the won in 2005.