Relaxation of Collection for Time-Barred Communication Claims... System Improvement for Illegal and Unfair Collection

by Yoo Jaehoon

Published 06 Mar.2024 12:01(KST)

Measures to ease debt collection on communication claims with expired statutes of limitations are being promoted. Additionally, the scope of information provision will be expanded to allow verification of whether the statute of limitations has expired for short-term card loans (cash services) and others.

The Financial Supervisory Service announced on the 6th that it will pursue such institutional improvements this year to eradicate illegal and unfair debt collection practices.

Financial Supervisory Service building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

First, the authorities plan to gradually provide an integrated financial and communication debt inquiry service through the Credit Information Center's 'CreditForYou.' Previously, consumers had to check financial and communication debts separately on the websites of the Credit Information Center and the Korea Association for ICT Promotion (KAIT), causing inconvenience.

In the first phase, starting from the 8th, CreditForYou will provide links and pop-ups for KAIT's communication debt inquiry service. Although users will still face some inconvenience, such as having to re-authenticate themselves, the aim is to offer the integrated inquiry service as quickly as possible. In the second phase, from May, after system upgrades, users will be able to directly check communication debts on CreditForYou without any additional authentication procedures.

The provision of information regarding the expiration of the statute of limitations will also be expanded. Previously, consumers could only check the expiration status of the statute of limitations for changed loan claims and long-term card loans (card loans) through CreditForYou. For cash services or loan claims and card loans without debt assignment, consumers could not verify whether the statute of limitations had expired.

Accordingly, the authorities plan to expand the scope of information provision by September to allow verification of the expiration status of the statute of limitations not only when there is a change in creditor for cash services, credit card transaction claims, and loans received as individual business operators, but also when delinquency occurs. The system will be improved so that verification can be done within five business days after delinquency or creditor changes occur.

Furthermore, plans to ease debt collection on communication claims with expired statutes of limitations will be prepared. In the case of financial claims, debt collection is prohibited once the statute of limitations has expired; however, there are no clear guidelines for non-financial claims such as communication claims. As a result, demands for repayment via mail or phone are still being made for communication claims with expired statutes of limitations, raising concerns about unfair debt collection practices, such as forcing consumers to waive their rights related to the statute of limitations.

Therefore, the authorities plan to prepare measures to ease debt collection related to communication claims with expired statutes of limitations in consultation with debt collection companies and telecommunications companies within the first half of the year. The Financial Supervisory Service stated, "By enabling consumers to more easily verify whether their debt statute of limitations has expired, cases where consumers unknowingly waive their rights will decrease, and damages caused by unfair debt collection practices on communication claims past the statute of limitations are also expected to be reduced."