[Exclusive][Is Saemaeul Geumgo Okay?] ① Illegal Loans Everywhere... 53.1 Billion Won This Year Alone

31 Cases Detected This Year Alone, 23 Executives Sanctioned
Calls for Financial Authorities' Supervision Continue

It has been revealed that illegal loans violating laws or regulations at Saemaeul Geumgo have exceeded 50 billion won this year alone.

According to the 'Status of Sanctions on Illegal Loans and Embezzlement at Saemaeul Geumgo' data obtained by Asia Economy on the 13th through Hong Seong-guk, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, 31 cases of illegal loans were detected by June this year, and 23 executives and employees were sanctioned. It was found that additional loans amounting to 53.1 billion won were granted by allowing excess loans in violation of laws or regulations. This is 2.7 times the amount that occurred in one year last year (about 19.3 billion won).

Illegal loans in the mutual finance sector refer to violations of the same-person loan limit, executive loan limit, and non-member loan limit. According to the current Saemaeul Geumgo Act, loans to the same person by the credit union must not exceed the limit prescribed by Presidential Decree within the range of 20% of the credit union's own capital or 1% of total assets, whichever is greater, as stipulated in Article 35, Paragraph 1. However, unlike credit unions and Nonghyup, Saemaeul Geumgo has no regulations on loans to non-members.

This year, a Saemaeul Geumgo in Gyeonggi Province had a case of violating the same-person loan limit involving personnel from deputy general manager to executive director, full-time director, and chairman, with the scale reaching 25.2 billion won. The related individuals received measures such as 'reprimand' and 'suspension.' At another Saemaeul Geumgo located in Seoul, one managing director violated the same-person loan limit in 11 cases, revealing illegal loans exceeding 13.8 billion won. This managing director was dismissed. Additionally, at a Saemaeul Geumgo in the Chungcheong region, executives and employees of almost all ranks were sanctioned. In this credit union, 12 cases of same-person loan limit violations were detected, and the credit union’s manager and managing director were dismissed, deputy general managers and department heads were suspended, and the chairman received improvement orders as sanctions.

Analyzing sanctions over the past five years from 2019 to this year (as of June), there were 272 cases of illegal loans, and 227 people were sanctioned. The cases were 94 in 2019, 70 in 2020, 35 in 2021, 42 in 2022, and 31 by June this year. The total amount related to illegal loans reached 172.56 billion won.

From 2019 to last June, various ranks from managers to managing directors and chairmen at Saemaeul Geumgo nationwide were sanctioned. Reprimands (73 people) and salary reductions (62 people) were the most common sanctions, and 50 employees received improvement orders, cautions, or warnings. There were 23 suspensions, 4 job suspensions, and 15 executives and employees were dismissed.

Regarding this, Assemblyman Hong pointed out, "It has once again been confirmed that Saemaeul Geumgo is completely outside the scope of financial supervision," adding, "For Saemaeul Geumgo, which has supported low-income finance and the local economy, to gain more trust in the future, systematic supervision by financial authorities must precede."

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