Regarding "Priority Passage of Voice Phishing Relief Act in March National Assembly"

"Responding to New Methods Such as Virtual Assets
Bill to Be Promptly Submitted to the National Assembly"

The People Power Party announced that it will prioritize the passage of a legislative amendment to provide relief for victims of voice phishing in the March National Assembly session. They also promised to swiftly prepare legislation in the National Assembly to address voice phishing crimes using new methods.

On the 28th, Seong Il-jong, the Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, stated at the 'Major Financial Crime Impacting People's Livelihood Response Measures and Financial Burden Relief Party-Government Consultation Meeting' held at the National Assembly, "When the March National Assembly convenes, the ruling and opposition parties will agree to prioritize the passage of the amendment to the Act on the Refund of Telecommunications Fraud Damage, proposed by Representative Yoon Han-hong and others."

This bill passed the Regulatory Reform Committee on the 21st as a committee alternative and is awaiting systematic and legal review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Unlike the existing transfer-type voice phishing, the amendment includes the recent significant increase in face-to-face extortion-type voice phishing crimes, where perpetrators meet victims directly to receive cash. It incorporates face-to-face extortion-type, withdrawal-type, and theft-type voice phishing into the category of telecommunications financial fraud. Additionally, once the amendment is enacted, investigative agencies can immediately apply for payment suspension on related accounts upon apprehending voice phishing criminals at the scene, and the punishment level for voice phishing offenders will be strengthened.

Seong Il-jong, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Civil-Government-Party Council on Measures to Respond to Serious Financial Crimes Affecting People's Livelihoods and Financial Relief Measures held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 28th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The People Power Party also announced that it will promptly introduce legislation to respond to new types of voice phishing crimes using virtual assets and other means. Chair Seong said, "We will promptly submit legislation in the National Assembly addressing new scams such as voice phishing using virtual asset exchanges, simple payment services like 'Pay,' and bankbook intimidation-type voice phishing."

This content was also included in the '2nd Financial Sector Voice Phishing Countermeasures' announced by the Financial Services Commission on the 27th. Lee Joo-hyun, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, who attended the consultation meeting, explained, "After strengthening victim protection against traditional account transfer-type voice phishing, face-to-face formats increased, and new methods using virtual assets emerged, continuously changing the tactics. This countermeasure identifies and supplements the weak links in victim protection revealed so far. Recently, phishing using virtual assets and simple remittances, which are difficult to track in terms of amount and movement, has increased, so this measure establishes institutional mechanisms to suspend payments and refund victims for new types of phishing."

On the same day, the party and government announced the achievements of the Voice Phishing Government Joint Investigation Team, established in July last year, and pledged to strengthen investigations including international cooperation. Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, said, "Since last year, there has been about a 30% reduction in voice phishing crimes due to multifaceted investigations and diplomatic efforts targeting the main perpetrators overseas. Going forward, the Ministry of Justice and the police will focus more on investigating and extraditing overseas main perpetrators to eradicate voice phishing."

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, also stated in a briefing after the consultation, "This year, the police are promoting cooperation and collaboration with Chinese public security to root out overseas local organizations. If crackdowns on local call centers can be carried out, it is expected to achieve groundbreaking results in eradicating voice phishing."