South Korean Police Launch Intensive Crackdown on Illegal Private Lending Crimes

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- Police on Wednesday announced an intensive crackdown on illegal private lending crimes, along with measures to root out such crimes that include deploying dedicated investigators and stronger protections for victims.

The Korean National Police Agency's National Office of Investigation said it has devised a comprehensive plan to eradicate crimes related to illegal private lending, focusing on breaking the chain of criminal activity, conducting systematic investigations and implementing tailored preventive measures.

As methods of illegal private lending and debt collection have become increasingly sophisticated, the need for more comprehensive countermeasures has become more pressing, the office said.

The police will assign at least one dedicated investigator to each of the 105 police stations throughout the country with an average of more than 20 illegal private lending cases each per year.

The authority to request the suspension of phone numbers used for illegal debt collection will be expanded to all police station chiefs nationwide.

The police will also push to establish a system that can swiftly suspend transactions on accounts used in illegal private lending crimes.

The number of illegal private lending crimes more than quadrupled in just four years, from 1,362 cases in 2021 to 5,519 cases last year, according to police data. Most of the victims were day laborers and the self-employed, and the proportion of young adults in their 20s and 30s is also on the rise. Recently, crimes targeting teenagers and foreign workers have also been increasing.

Between November and June, as many as 2,060 illegal private lending offenders were apprehended and 76 of them were put under arrest, according to the police.