'Card Loan Interest Rate 13%·Insurance Companies Making Big Profits'... Seong Il-jong Sharply Targets Financial Sector Day After Day

Seong Il-jong, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the People Power Party, is attending the 'Comprehensive Measures for Narcotics Control' party-government consultation held at the National Assembly on the 26th, talking with Visit Gyu, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Amid worsening public livelihood due to the 'triple burden' of high interest rates, high inflation, and high exchange rates, Seong Il-jong, the Policy Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, has been continuously making pointed remarks targeting the financial sector.

At the Emergency Measures Committee meeting on the 27th, Chairman Seong pointed out, "Card loans increased by more than 1.4 trillion won in the first half of the year. When ordinary people urgently borrow through cards, the average interest rate is around 13.5%, and cash loans are at 17%," highlighting that the high interest rates could increase the interest burden on the public.

He suggested the need to lower loan interest rates such as card loans, saying, "I hope the government will review ways to alleviate the burden on citizens using small loans even a little."

Earlier, in June, Chairman Seong also requested banks to reduce the interest rate gap between deposits and loans, stating that banks are earning enormous interest profits.

He has also demanded a significant reduction in automobile insurance premiums. At the National Assembly audit countermeasure meeting on the 30th of last month, Chairman Seong said, "Due to COVID-19 and high oil prices, vehicle movement has decreased, and non-life insurance companies are making huge profits from automobile insurance premiums," emphasizing the need for a substantial reduction in automobile insurance premiums.

He urged the non-life insurance industry, which should be a reliable support for the public, to voluntarily participate in lowering automobile insurance premiums, saying, "Non-life insurers are making a fortune."

As the 'second-in-command' in the ruling party's National Assembly leadership and the person responsible for reviewing and drafting party policies, Chairman Seong's continuous remarks targeting the financial industry are interpreted as a signal urging the financial sector, which has posted record profits due to high interest rates, to participate in 'sharing the pain.' In fact, after political circles raised concerns about the high-interest-rate boom, banks have been rushing to reduce the interest rate gap between deposits and loans.

In particular, by mentioning issues closely related to daily life, such as the interest rate gap and insurance premiums, the government and ruling party also effectively demonstrate to the public their focus on 'taking care of people's livelihoods.'

In this regard, Chairman Seong plans to request the government to further ease the conditions for the Safe Conversion Loan. On the morning of the 28th, after a follow-up meeting on the National Assembly audit, he told reporters, "We have continuously requested raising the criteria for Safe Conversion Loans, refinancing loans, and jeonse deposit loans to 900 million won. We will make sure to follow up on that." At the 11th Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting presided over by the President on the 27th, the housing price condition for the Safe Conversion Loan was eased from 400 million won to 600 million won, and he plans to request an additional easing to 900 million won.

Additionally, on the 30th, he is scheduled to attend a party-government meeting on financial market monitoring and countermeasure preparation, attended by the government, ruling party, and the Presidential Office, to discuss measures.

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