"Active Guidance on the Right to Request Debt Adjustment for Debtors in Savings Banks and Mutual Finance"

FSS Holds Fair Finance Promotion Committee Meeting
Strengthening Guidance on the Right to Request Debt Adjustment in the Small and Medium-Sized Financial Sector
Promoting Improvement of Dormant Financial Asset Refund Rates by Financial Companies

On January 6, the Financial Supervisory Service announced that it held the 10th 'Fair Finance Promotion Committee' meeting, where it reviewed two key agenda items: strengthening guidance on the right to request debt adjustment in the small and medium-sized financial sector, and improving the refund rate of dormant financial assets by financial companies.

Currently, small and medium-sized financial institutions (including savings banks, mutual finance, and credit card companies) notify debtors in advance when delinquency information is about to be registered, informing them that they can request debt adjustment. However, this information is briefly mentioned at the bottom of the delinquency notification letter, making it easy for consumers to overlook, and it is difficult for them to obtain the essential information required to request debt adjustment.

To address this, the small and medium-sized financial sector plans to provide each eligible borrower with detailed and separate guidance (such as text messages) on the right to request debt adjustment at the early stage of delinquency, so that consumers can utilize the debt adjustment system and prevent long-term delinquency.

The management of dormant financial assets by financial companies will also be strengthened. Although financial authorities and the financial sector have continuously provided inquiry services and conducted campaigns to help consumers more easily locate dormant financial assets, the total amount of dormant assets held by financial companies has remained stagnant.

The Financial Supervisory Service emphasized that, going forward, it will guide financial companies with low refund rates to improve their management of dormant financial assets, and will share best practices in managing such assets.

In addition, it will disclose the status and refund performance of dormant financial assets to encourage financial companies to make voluntary efforts to manage these assets more actively.

Park Jiseon, Director General of the Financial Consumer Protection Bureau at the Financial Supervisory Service (and chairperson of the committee), explained, "At today's committee meeting, we addressed tasks such as improving guidance on the right to request debt adjustment for financial consumers in the small and medium-sized financial sector who are experiencing financial difficulties, and encouraging financial companies to improve refund rates so that more dormant financial assets can be returned to consumers."

She further urged, "In particular, please actively cooperate to strengthen guidance on the right to request debt adjustment in the small and medium-sized financial sector, which has a larger number of debt adjustment-eligible claims compared to other sectors, so that financial consumers can utilize the debt adjustment system in a timely manner."