T-Mef and ELS Incident Causes 24.0% Surge in Financial Complaints Last Year

FSS to "Activate Dispute Mediation Committee"

Last year, financial complaints increased by 24% due to incidents such as the T-Mef scandal and losses related to Hong Kong H Index-linked Equity-Linked Securities (ELS). Complaints related to banks, which were the main sellers of ELS, saw the largest increase.

According to the "2024 Financial Complaints and Financial Counseling Trends" announced by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on the 8th, financial complaints totaled 116,338 cases, a 24.0% increase compared to the previous year (93,842 cases). Complaints surged in the order of banks (+53.3%), small and low-income groups (+45.3%), and financial investment (+14.7%). In contrast, life insurance complaints decreased by 3.3%.

Bank-related financial complaints reached 24,043 cases, jumping 53.3% from the previous year. Complaints related to bancassurance and funds (+4,349 cases, 1048.0%↑) and trusts (+2,729 cases, 1459.4%↑) increased significantly due to incomplete sales of ELS. This is because ELS related to the H Index and Equity-Linked Trusts (ELT) are classified under bancassurance/funds or trusts in the FSS complaint categories.

Complaints related to small and low-income groups rose 45.3% to 29,809 cases compared to the previous year. Complaints against credit card companies (+3,645 cases, 39.1%↑) and credit information companies (+314 cases, 12.2%↑) increased relatively significantly.

Life insurance-related complaints decreased by 3.3% (-444 cases) to 13,085 cases compared to the previous year. Complaints regarding insurance solicitation (-576 cases) and insurance claim calculation and payment (-283 cases) declined, while complaints related to contract establishment and cancellation (+225 cases) increased.

General complaints increased by 24.3% from the previous year to 72,394 cases, while dispute complaints decreased by 5.1% to 36,856 cases. The average complaint processing period was 41.5 days, 6.7 days shorter than the previous year, and the complaint acceptance rate rose by 3.3 percentage points to 39.9%.

The FSS stated, "We will enhance the reliability of complaint handling by activating the Dispute Mediation Committee and improve the efficiency of complaint and dispute handling methods by advancing the 'Focused Processing System by Dispute Type' introduced in insurance last year."

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