Acquisition with a 10% Loan Fee Commission
Officials from a loan brokerage company who intermediated government-supported loans for about 1,000 economically vulnerable individuals and embezzled brokerage fees have been handed over to the prosecution.
On the 30th, the Gwanak Police Station in Seoul announced that they had sent 10 people, including Jang (28), the representative of the loan brokerage company, to the prosecution without detention on October 4th on charges of violating the Act on Registration of Loan Business and Protection of Financial Consumers.
According to the police, these individuals had previously worked together at a loan company and are accused of calling numerous unspecified people, deceiving them by saying, "You are originally ineligible for a loan, but if you go through our company, you can get a loan," and demanding a 10% commission on the loan amount as a fee.
Originally, government-supported financial products can be applied for by anyone who meets certain criteria and do not involve any fees. However, they deceived victims from economically vulnerable groups into believing that the products could only be subscribed to through their brokerage company. Using this method, they intermediated government-supported loans worth approximately 16.5 billion KRW for 1,086 loan applicants and embezzled illegal brokerage fees amounting to 1.68 billion KRW.
The police obtained intelligence about the illegal brokerage fees and investigated the loan brokerage company for five months. They arrested the representative and 10 associates on May 29th and took pre-indictment seizure measures on the criminal proceeds of 1.68 billion KRW that they embezzled.
A police official urged, "People should receive guidance on low-income financial support loan products through official institutions such as the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency or banks, and if someone whose identity is not verified introduces loan products and demands fees, please actively report it to the police."
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