Lee Jae-myung: "We Will Root Out Illegal Loan Sharking with the Government"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung expressed his determination to root out illegal loan sharking.

Governor Lee conveyed this resolve through his SNS on the 25th with a post stating, "Together with the government, we will root out illegal loan sharking once and for all."

Governor Lee said, "I welcome the Financial Services Commission's decision to lower the illegal private finance interest rate limit from 24% to 6%," and noted, "Gyeonggi Province has arrested 62 people related to illegal loan sharking from 2018 to now, and among them, the highest interest rate reached as high as 31,000%," adding, "Those seeking illegal loans are powerless ordinary citizens, and I cannot help but feel anger at the act of exploiting the vulnerabilities of these ordinary people for unfair profits."

Governor Lee concluded by saying, "I will do my utmost to root out illegal loan sharking with the government, which causes people to shed tears of blood."

The following is the full text of Governor Lee Jae-myung's SNS post.

<We Will Root Out Illegal Loan Sharking Once and for All Together with the Government>
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I welcome the Financial Services Commission's decision to lower the illegal private finance interest rate limit from 24% to 6%.
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Until now, even when illegal high-interest loans exceeding the statutory interest rate were provided, only profits exceeding 24% were recognized as illegal. With the audacity that operators would be fine as long as they weren't caught, they extracted higher interest rates, and even when caught, they could still pocket the 24% profit. This was an illogical structure. With the interest rate limit lowered to 6%, victims of illegal private finance will be able to receive more refunds for unfair gains.
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Since 2018, Gyeonggi Province has been waging a "war against illegal loans" through quarterly intensive investigations, crackdowns on loan shark pamphlets, and receiving damage reports to root out high-interest illegal loan businesses. So far, we have arrested 62 people, and among them, the highest interest rate reached as high as 31,000%.
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Those seeking illegal loans are powerless ordinary citizens—credit delinquents, self-employed workers, housewives, and students. When I think of those who suffer from unbearable debt after their struggle for survival, my heart aches. I cannot help but feel anger at the act of exploiting the vulnerabilities of ordinary citizens for unfair profits.
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Starting next month, we will implement the "Gyeonggi Ultra-Low Credit Loan" project, which provides loans up to 3 million won at 1% annual interest to residents damaged by illegal loans. I hope this will be of some help.
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The government is also implementing measures to protect victims' rights, including increasing delinquent interest and re-lending, voiding oral contracts, and invalidating loans without contracts. Gyeonggi Province has recommended to the government that the statutory maximum interest rate for private lending be reduced from 24% to 10%.
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Illegal loan sharking that makes people shed tears of blood...Together with the government, I will do my utmost to root it out once and for all.