"Preventing and Remedying Financial Crimes Against Livelihoods"
The Financial Supervisory Service has announced plans to implement strong crackdowns and practical relief measures as part of its "war against illegal private lending."
On November 27, the Financial Supervisory Service stated that it held a forum with the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee under the theme "Eradicating Damage from Illegal Private Lending and Strengthening the Management of Commercial Claims."
This forum was organized to diagnose the current state and issues of illegal private lending by sharing actual cases of damage and investigations, as well as suggestions from civil society. The discussion topics included: ▲ Recent trends and criminal investigation cases related to illegal private lending ▲ Measures to strengthen the management of commercial claims such as rental claims ▲ Countermeasures against illegal private lending.
Lee Chanjin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, presented four directions for improvement to resolve these issues: ▲ Promoting strong crackdowns ▲ Providing practical relief for victims ▲ Strengthening preventive measures ▲ Addressing regulatory gaps in illegal debt collection.
In his opening remarks, Governor Lee stated, "Despite the efforts of the pan-government task force and related agencies, reports of damage from illegal private lending continue to increase. Illegal private lending is a heinous, anti-humanitarian crime against people's livelihoods, where money borrowed for survival becomes a shackle that robs individuals of hope, destroying lives through murderous interest rates and ruthless illegal debt collection."
He continued, "Every victim suffering at this very moment is never alone. The government and the Financial Supervisory Service will work together to thoroughly eradicate illegal private lending."
Assemblyman Yoo Youngha remarked, "Illegal private lending is becoming more sophisticated and diversifying its methods, threatening the economy of ordinary citizens and the socially vulnerable. There is an urgent need to overhaul financial consumer protection policies and systems to ensure effectiveness. Beyond simple crackdowns and ex post compensation, it is necessary to reorganize the entire legal and institutional framework related to market structure."
Assemblyman Han Changmin emphasized, "Not only illegal private lending but also excessive collection practices related to commercial claims such as rental and telecommunications claims, which are closely tied to the daily lives of ordinary people, can place a heavy burden on their lives. It is necessary to improve the system by strictly limiting collection methods and recovery to a level similar to that of financial claims, in order to protect debtors."
Kim Youngjin, Chairman of the Korea Legal Aid Corporation, stated, "With the enforcement of the revised Lending Business Act, it is now possible to provide practical relief through legal proceedings, marking an important turning point in strengthening the protection of debtors' rights. We will also support the actual recovery of victims by improving post-management systems to check and address repeated collections, and will actively cooperate with related organizations."
Lee Yongbin, CEO of the Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation, said, "It is necessary to establish a systematic financial welfare system focused on victim relief and prevention. I recommend that the Financial Supervisory Service play an active role in thoroughly recovering illegal gains, proactively blocking illegal activities using advanced technology, and building close governance between public and private sector agencies."
The Financial Supervisory Service plans to actively reflect and pursue the on-site opinions and policy recommendations presented at the forum in its supervisory work, in close cooperation with the National Assembly and related ministries.
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