Loan Finance Association Says Illegal Private Loans Averaged 546% Interest on 11 Million Won Last Year

1.063 Billion Won in Relief for Illegal Private Financing Damages

The Korea Loan Finance Association announced on the 25th that the average interest rate on illegal private loans last year was calculated at 546%.

The association stated this based on an analysis of 8,910 cases involving 846 victims of illegal private financing last year.

The average loan amount was 11 million won, and the average transaction period was 48 days.

These figures are based on an analysis of the loan damage cases of users of the association's "Illegal Private Financing Transaction History Verification Service."

This service involves the association checking and analyzing the loan transaction histories of victims of illegal private financing, calculating the actual interest rates, and issuing the results in the form of a certificate, which is also used as evidence for investigations by judicial authorities.

The amount of damage from illegal private financing that the association provided relief for last year totaled 1.063 billion won.

Last year, the association fully wrote off 208 cases of illegal private financing debt, amounting to 519 million won. It also took measures to ensure that unjust gains from 145 cases, totaling 544 million won, in which violations of the statutory maximum interest rate were confirmed, were immediately returned to the victims.

Association President Jung Sungwoong said, "We will spare no effort in providing judicial support at the association level so that victims can immediately exercise their legal rights," adding, "Depending on the case, the association will file complaints directly and enforce a zero-tolerance policy within its authority to eliminate any room for illegal private financing to exist."