'Error Remittance Return Support' Limit Raised for Three Months... 6.2 Billion Won Applied

77 People Applied for Return Support of High-Value Mistaken Remittances from 10 Million to 50 Million KRW, Totaling 2 Billion KRW

Mr. L, who works as an accounting clerk at a small and medium-sized enterprise, mistakenly transferred 13 million KRW to an unknown recipient due to an incorrect account number input while transferring payment for materials to a business partner earlier this year. If Mr. L could not recover this amount, he would have to repay it personally or face disciplinary action from the company. However, the bank only informed him that the recipient was "unreachable." In a desperate situation, Mr. L consulted a lawyer but was told that resolving the issue would take 4 to 6 months.

At that moment, Mr. L learned that from January this year, the upper limit for mistaken remittance return support had been raised from under 10 million KRW to up to 50 million KRW, and he turned to the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC). When KDIC contacted the recipient by retrieving information from telecommunications companies, the recipient misunderstood the bank’s contact as a voice phishing attempt and returned the mistakenly transferred money. Mr. L was able to recover the mistaken remittance in just over a month.

About three months after the mistaken remittance return support system’s upper limit was raised from 10 million KRW to 50 million KRW, approximately 3,000 financial consumers applied for return support totaling around 6 billion KRW.

According to KDIC on the 21st, a total of 3,142 financial consumers applied for mistaken remittance return support from the beginning of this year until the 19th, with the application amount totaling 6.2 billion KRW. Considering that from the system’s implementation in July 2021 until December last year, a total of about 16,000 applicants requested returns amounting to approximately 23.9 billion KRW, this indicates a rapid growth trend.

Among these, there were 77 applications for mistaken remittances exceeding 10 million KRW but not exceeding 50 million KRW, amounting to 2 billion KRW. Of these 77 high-value applications, 57 cases (about 1.44 billion KRW) are under eligibility review, 15 cases (390 million KRW) are undergoing related procedures, and 5 cases (170 million KRW) have been completed.

KDIC’s mistaken remittance return support system is designed to help financial consumers quickly recover money sent in error with minimal cost. When the system was introduced in July 2021, the support amount limit was 10 million KRW, but following regulatory amendments, from January 1 this year, return support became available for mistaken remittances exceeding 10 million KRW and up to 50 million KRW.

KDIC raised the support amount limit due to the recent increase in account transfers via smartphones, which has led to a rise in the frequency and amount of mistaken remittances. Large sums related to various transaction payments, rental deposits, and stock trading funds are increasingly transacted non-face-to-face, resulting in more frequent mistaken remittances.

KDIC stated, “Along with this system improvement, the Corporation will enhance convenience and accessibility for users of the mistaken remittance return support system by developing a mobile application that allows applications and status checks, thereby improving the benefits for financial consumers.”