(Society) Single Mom’s ‘Devil’s Collection’ on the Brink… What is the Status of Illegal Bonds?

Hosts: Anchor Jeong Jin-hyung and Anchor Lee Eun-sol
Featuring: Lee Hyun-jung, social affairs reporter

* The text below may differ from the actual content of the broadcast, so please check the broadcast for more detailed information. When quoting, please mention (YTN New Square, 20:00).

(Anchor)
YTN continues to report on the state of illegal private lending exposed through the story of a single mother in her 30s who died as a result of cruel debt collection. Since President Yoon Suk Yeol has ordered the prosecutor’s office and police to mobilize all investigative resources, attention is being paid to whether the case can crack down on illicit private finance. Let’s talk in detail with reporter Lee Hyun-jung who is covering this case. Hello, this reporter. First, please explain how you handled the “illegal debt collection of a single mother” case.

(Reporter)
Yes, YTN reporters first learned in late September that A, a woman in her 30s who was raising her 6-year-old daughter alone, had died as a result of illegal collection. Given that the victim had made an extreme choice, reporters covered it meticulously and carefully, and after a month they had difficulty contacting her grieving family and friends. I then contacted A’s friends and secured threatening messages and telephone records sent by the loan sharks. The message contained insults and false information about Mr A, as well as sensitive personal information such as family photos, residents’ registration numbers and home addresses. A’s friends said that hundreds of such messages arrive indiscriminately every day. Let’s hear it.

(A friend of Mr. A. It is difficult to raise a child alone and live with a sick father… For several days I have been receiving over a hundred text messages a day.)

(Reporter)
It was found that the loan sharks even called the kindergarten attended by A’s daughter and threatened to go to the child. Reporters decided that the crimes committed by the loan sharks were serious enough to kill a woman, and they started reporting seriously.

(Anchor)
In another report, a suicide note received from a bereaved family aroused particular regret. What was that about?

(Reporter)
Mr. A was found dead in a guesthouse in Wanju, Jeollabuk-do, on September 22. The farewell letter, which reporters secured with the consent of the grieving family, was especially filled with feelings for her 6-year-old daughter, who will remain alone. Mr. A repeatedly told his daughter that he loved her and wrote that he should not forgive himself for not being able to support her and that he was a big burden to her. I kept apologizing for making an immature choice without offending the world, and our reporters were very hurt.

(Mr. A’s family in mourning: I hope he (the loan shark) won’t be able to prosper in the country. It’s not all because of them (my daughter).)

(Reporter)
Moreover, the last page of the suicide note found loan sharks and the amounts of money borrowed, including 900,000 won for assistant manager Cho and 400,000 won for senior manager Ko. The debt, which started out at hundreds of thousands of won, appears to have increased by over 10 million won in less than a month, reaching a murderous interest rate of thousands of percent per year. Mr. A complained to his friends that he thought he could borrow a small amount and pay it back, but he was pressured to pay 100,000 won more every minute after the due date.

(Anchor)
I also met a former private lender who has since been involved in illegal private financing. What are they talking about?

(Reporter)
Yes, reporters met with a former private loan shark who worked for an illegal private finance company for over two years and heard internal testimony. As soon as he got into crime, he said he learned how to scare him, especially the “set of friends” that Mr. A was subjected to. If the debtor didn’t give you the money right away, he told you to threaten him with false personal details and even nude photos as security. . Let’s hear it for ourselves.

(former loan shark) First you have to scare him. Who is your dad? I borrowed money, pay me back. Why don’t you pay me back? If you can’t repay me, send me a nude photo of yourself instead. If you send ○○ exposed, I will reduce my interest a bit….)

(Reporter)
He also explained that he borrowed money for this purpose and, as security, he received contact details of his friends or installed a program on his mobile phone that removed the entire address book.

(Anchor)
Detailed criminal methods resembling criminal organizations were also provided. Please explain.

(Reporter)
Yes, a characteristic feature of illegal loan sharks is that they only communicate with debtors face to face, take false positions and never expose themselves. He evaded police tracking by using social networking sites, fake phones and fake bank accounts, especially using the security-heavy Telegram as a criminal tool. Reporters personally checked three “debtor information rooms” that are subject to strict certification on Telegram. As many as 800 loan sharks have gathered to distribute personal information such as names, years of birth and place of residence of debtors and use it for illegal data collection.

(Anchor)
As soon as YTN started its planning report, President Yoon Suk Yeol himself issued an order. What was that about?

(Reporter)
A day after YTN’s first report, President Yoon said he couldn’t help but feel angry after hearing the news. Illegal debt collection is a cruel crime that destroys the lives of ordinary people, so he ordered the prosecutor’s office and the police to use all their investigative capabilities to root them out. He also ordered the financial authorities to re-examine the policy of financial support for ordinary people. Even though he declared a “war on illicit private finance” last November and even created a pan-government TF, the damage continued, to which he repeatedly emphasized a tough response.

(Anchor)
In this regard, the president himself mentioned it, but the situation of late police investigation later became controversial, right?

(Reporter)
Yes, reporters confirmed that the damage resulting from illegal collection had already been reported to the police about 10 days before A’s death. A’s friend, who had received threatening messages from loan sharks, first informed a police intelligence officer, but this was reported to the Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul only after A’s death. 46 days passed after a friend announced the damage, and a month later the Jongam Police Station in Seoul opened an official investigation. Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, expressed regret when YTN pointed out the slow response. He explained that the police intelligence officer had received a telephone report from Friend A, but it seemed to have taken some time as the details were not detailed. Additionally, a senior police official explained that the official investigation began about a month after the Seoul Metropolitan Government was notified of a delay in the process of changing the investigation department due to the seriousness of the case.

(Anchor)
But illegal loan sharks are still operating in full swing?

(Reporter)
Three days after President Yoon’s order, reporters directly contacted the lending company through a loan brokerage platform. Most of them have introduced interest rates well in excess of 100% per week and 5,200% per year, but all of these murderous interest rates are illegal. As security, they also asked for contact details and certificates of relationship of friends, and loan sharks who illegally collect them agreed with this method. I even pretended to be an official registration company, but nothing came up when I searched the Loan Business Finance Association for the registration number and company name.

(Anchor)
Against this background, is there a weak system for registering lending activities and a low level of penalties?

(Reporter)
Yes, the Lending Act passed in 2002 adopts a “registration system” to support private lending activities, but the problem is that the barriers to entry are too low. With over 10 million won and 18 hours of training, anyone can register with a lending company without a resident employee. For this reason, as of this year, the number of registered lenders nationwide is 8,597, and small businesses are scattered. Moreover, penalties for operating unregistered and illegally high interest rates have remained the same for 22 years, and even if they are punished, most of them result in a suspended sentence or fine. However, the National Assembly did not even properly discuss the amendment to the Lending Act, continuing to discuss similar details. Reporters investigated amendments to the law on lending activities from the 17th to the 22nd National Assembly and more than half of them were abandoned by the end of the term. When the case of the single mother became known, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to take up the bill within the regular session of the National Assembly, and as illegal private loans and debt collection put the lives of ordinary people on the edge, further discussions on additional measures are needed.

(Anchor)
Yes, thank you very much This is what reporter Lee Hyun-jung from the Ministry of Social Affairs said.

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