Police Strengthen Crackdown on Illegal Private Loans... Also Investigate Crime Tools Like Dapo Phones

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 11th that it will strengthen crackdowns on illegal private loans until October, aiming to eradicate financial crimes that infringe on people's livelihoods in the second half of the year.

The main targets for crackdown include existing criminal activities such as ▲unregistered business operations ▲loan sharking ▲illegal debt collection ▲other new types of loans, as well as additional criminal methods like burner phones, dummy bank accounts, and illegal distribution of personal information. The police plan to actively apply the crime syndicate organization charges to organized illegal activities and will consolidate and intensively investigate cases occurring nationwide through specialized investigative departments of provincial police agencies. Furthermore, they will ensure to review the confiscation and seizure of unjust profits earned from illegal private loans, such as exorbitant interest.

This crackdown is part of the 'Second Half-Year Intensive Crackdown on Financial Crimes Infringing on People's Livelihoods' that has been in effect since July. In line with the government's formation last month of the 'Whole-of-Government Task Force (TF) to Eradicate Illegal Private Loans,' led by the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the police have expanded the scope of targets and strengthened punishments. The TF includes the National Police Agency, Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Science and ICT, and Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Earlier, in the first half of this year, the police intensively cracked down on 'financial crimes infringing on people's livelihoods,' including illegal private loans, fraudulent fundraising, and illegal multi-level marketing, resulting in a total of 837 cases and 2,151 arrests, with 31 people detained. By crime type, illegal private loans accounted for the highest number with 516 cases and 1,051 arrests. These figures represent increases of 21% and 34%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. This upward trend is attributed to the increased household debt burden due to the rise in the base interest rate, which pushed vulnerable and marginalized groups toward illegal private loans.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.