Following President Yoon's Order to Strictly Crack Down on Illegal Debt Collection
Park Seong-jae, Minister of Justice, has instructed the prosecution to conduct principled detention investigations and thorough recovery of criminal proceeds against malicious illegal debt collection operators.
On the 13th, the Ministry of Justice announced that Minister Park instructed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office the previous day to ▲eradicate illegal debt collection crimes through thorough investigations and prosecution maintenance ▲strictly apply the standards for handling cases related to illegal debt collection ▲actively support victims harmed by illegal debt collection acts ▲and thoroughly recover criminal proceeds obtained from illegal debt collection crimes.
This directive from Minister Park follows President Yoon Seok-yeol's order the previous day to eradicate illegal debt collection after hearing the news of a woman in her 30s, Ms. A, who died after suffering from illegal debt collection.
The day before, President Yoon instructed, "Illegal debt collection acts are malicious crimes that destroy the lives of ordinary people. The prosecution and police must mobilize all investigative capabilities to root out illegal debt collection, and financial authorities must comprehensively review policies supporting low-income finance to prevent ordinary people from falling into the trap of illegal private loans."
Ms. A, who was raising her kindergarten-aged daughter alone, borrowed money at an annual interest rate of several thousand percent and, when unable to repay on time, was harassed by private loan sharks who sent humiliating text messages to her family and acquaintances.
The Ministry of Justice stated that Minister Park ordered the eradication of illegal debt collection crimes through thorough investigations and prosecution maintenance, as well as the strict application of the revised case handling standards enacted in July.
First, Minister Park instructed that in principle, detention investigations should be conducted for ▲the heads and key participants of criminal organizations or similarly organized loan businesses ▲cases involving habitual and repeated illegal lending targeting vulnerable groups such as minors and disabled persons ▲and cases where illegal collection methods such as sexual exploitation and stalking were used to prevent debtors or their families from leading normal daily lives.
Additionally, Minister Park emphasized thorough support for victims who suffer life or bodily harm due to illegal collection acts, and requested that criminal proceeds obtained from illegal debt collection crimes be thoroughly recovered through close cooperation with related agencies by tracking them to the end and implementing confiscation and seizure preservation measures.
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