Website Crashes as Reservations Open on 22nd
Loan of 1 Million KRW for Credit Scores Below 700 and Annual Income Under 35 Million KRW
Reservation Period Extended to 4 Weeks
On the 22nd, the application method for the '1 million won living expense loan,' which began its first pre-reservation application, will change. This financial support program for vulnerable groups targets individuals with a credit score in the bottom 20% or lower (KCB 700 points, NICE 744 points) and an annual income of 35 million won or less, providing loans up to 1 million won.
On the same day, the Financial Services Commission announced that due to an overwhelming number of pre-reservation applications starting from 9 a.m., the method would be changed. From the first day of pre-reservation, the surge in applicants caused delays in accessing the homepage of the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency, the institution responsible for loan execution. As of 3:10 p.m., all regional centers except one in southern Gyeonggi had closed pre-reservation consultation applications.
The Financial Services Commission stated, "Despite tripling the loan consultation staff at the existing Korea Inclusive Finance Agency centers and accepting applications for the small living expense loan, the number of applicants is so high that next week's reservations are expected to close around 4 p.m. today. To improve user convenience, we have decided to change the original weekly reservation system."
The original application method allowed scheduling consultation appointments from Wednesday to Friday each week for the following Monday to Friday. The first consultation reservation application started today. Those who applied online (sloan.kinfa.or.kr) or by phone (Korea Inclusive Finance Call Center, no area code, 1397) from the 22nd to the 24th were scheduled to receive consultations and loans according to their reservation dates from the 27th to the 31st.
However, due to the surge in reservations, the application method was changed to accept pre-reservations for the next four weeks from the 22nd to the 24th. Unprocessed and canceled reservations from previous applications can be rescheduled on the respective days.
The loan support limit for living expenses is up to 1 million won. After an initial loan of 500,000 won, borrowers who faithfully pay interest for more than six months can receive additional loans. If the purpose of funds, such as hospital bills, can be verified, borrowers can receive up to 1 million won even at the initial loan stage.
The Financial Services Commission explained, "The so-called 'durable goods loan' (a loan to self-rescue) is typically a small amount around 500,000 won, and considering that the most frequent loan amount on online loan advertisement sites is 400,000 won, the scale was set accordingly." This is a financial support system for low-income people to prevent them from turning to loan sharks, whose estimated average interest rate is 414%, due to lack of 500,000 won.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
