Ministry of Health and Welfare and Financial Supervisory Service Sign Agreement to Strengthen Response to Illegal Private Loans Targeting Vulnerable Groups

Eradicating Improper Billing by Medical Institutions

Establishing a Cooperative System to Strengthen Old-Age Income Security

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Financial Supervisory Service are enhancing their support system to protect financially vulnerable groups from illegal private loan crimes.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Financial Supervisory Service announced on May 7 that they signed a "Financial Business Agreement to Strengthen Response to Financial Crimes Targeting Vulnerable Groups" at the Government Complex Seoul in the afternoon.

The agreement aims to establish an institutional cooperation system for: ▲ strengthening the response to illegal private loan crimes targeting vulnerable groups; ▲ expanding financial education for these groups; ▲ eradicating improper billing by medical institutions; and ▲ reinforcing the national old-age income security system.

First, the two organizations will cooperate to respond to the rising number of illegal private loan victims among low-credit and low-income individuals in vulnerable groups.

They will strengthen guidance on the prevention of and response to illegal private loan damage, specifically for households in welfare crisis and high-risk groups who may be at risk of extreme choices.

In particular, if illegal private loan damage is identified during counseling sessions at prevention centers regarding extreme choices, the victim will be connected to the "Illegal Private Loan One-Stop Comprehensive and Dedicated Support System."

This one-stop support system is designed to provide integrated assistance to victims of illegal private loans. With just a single report, a dedicated case manager is assigned to handle everything from blocking illegal debt collection and requesting investigations, to appointing a debtor representative.

Through this, the response system will be upgraded to quickly provide various support services, such as halting illegal debt collection and appointing debtor representatives.

Support will also be offered to care leavers, children, and the elderly to enhance their financial capabilities.

Financial counseling will be provided to care leavers, and the mandatory education for receiving independence allowances will include enhanced financial content. The independence allowance is a subsidy of 500,000 won per month for five years, provided to care leavers after the age of 18.

On occasions such as Senior Citizens’ Day (October 2), financial education will be promoted to the elderly, and financial education will be provided to vulnerable children at local children’s centers and child care facilities.

Illegal Private Loan One-Stop Comprehensive and Dedicated Support System. Ministry of Health and Welfare · Financial Supervisory Service

The two organizations will establish a cooperative system to prevent improper billing by medical institutions, eradicate insurance fraud, and strengthen the multi-layered old-age income security system.

Specific cooperation measures to prevent improper billing by medical institutions and eradicate insurance fraud will be developed through a separate working group.

They also plan to actively promote the importance of the National Pension and retirement preparation services to strengthen national old-age income security.

Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong said, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Financial Supervisory Service are institutions whose work is closely connected, from protecting vulnerable groups to preventing improper billing by medical institutions. Through this agreement, we expect to provide faster and more effective assistance to citizens suffering from illegal private loan issues."

She added, "We will further strengthen our collaborative system to reduce citizens’ medical expenses by eradicating insurance fraud and to build a multi-layered old-age income security system."

Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chanjin said, "By combining the Financial Supervisory Service, which is responsible for eradicating crimes affecting people’s livelihoods, with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which is responsible for welfare support, we can establish a reliable safety net for vulnerable groups. When a crime victim is identified, we will immediately activate a one-stop system that provides both relief and welfare services."

He further explained, "We will strengthen financial education for vulnerable groups in need of welfare, and proactively address blind spots in crimes affecting people’s livelihoods by linking information from both the Financial Supervisory Service and the Ministry of Health and Welfare in an organic manner."

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