(Society) Single Mother’s “Devil Collection” is on the brink… What’s the status of illegal bonds?

■ Host: Host Jeong Jin-hyung and Host Lee Eun-sol
■ Cast: Lee Hyun-jung, Social Affairs Reporter

*The text below may differ from the actual publication content, so please check the publication for more accurate information. Please specify when quoting (YTN New Square 20:00).

(Anchor)
YTN continues to report on the state of illegal private loans, brought to light through the story of a single mother in her 30s who died after suffering from bad collections. With President Yoon Suk Yeol ordering the prosecutor’s office and police to mobilize all their investigative capabilities, attention is being paid to whether the case can combat illegal private financing. Let’s talk in detail with Lee Hyun-jung, the reporter who follows this case. Hello, this is the reporter. First, please explain how you handled this “single mother’s illegal collection” case.

(Correspondent)
Yes, YTN reporters first learned in late September that A, a woman in her 30s who was raising her 6-year-old daughter alone, died due to illegal collection. Considering that the victim had made an extreme choice, reporters covered the matter carefully and carefully, and within a month they were barely able to reach the grieving family and acquaintances. Later, I contacted A’s acquaintances and obtained the threatening messages and phone records sent by the loan sharks. The message contained insults and misinformation towards Mr A, as well as sensitive personal information such as family photographs, resident registration numbers and home addresses. A’s acquaintances said that hundreds of such messages pour in indiscriminately every day. Let’s listen.

(Mr. A’s acquaintance: It is very difficult to raise a child alone and live with a sick father…. I had been receiving more than a hundred text messages a day for several days.)

(Correspondent)
It was even revealed that the loan sharks called the kindergarten where A’s daughter went and threatened to go to see the child. Reporters judged the loan sharks’ crimes to be serious enough to kill a woman and began reporting seriously.

(Anchor)
The subsequent report stated that the suicide note sent through the grieving family caused particular distress. What was it about?

(Correspondent)
Mr. A was found dead in a hostel in Wanju, Jeollabuk-do, on September 22. The suicide note, secured by journalists with the consent of the grieving family, was filled with love, especially for her 6-year-old daughter. Who will be alone? Mr. A repeatedly told his daughter that he loved her, but wrote that she should not forgive him because he could not take care of her and was a great burden. Without getting angry at the world, I went on to apologize for making an immature choice, and our reporters were very hurt.

(Mr. A’s grieving family: I hope (the loan shark) can’t thrive in the country. It’s not all because of them (my daughter).)

(Correspondent)
Additionally, the last side of the suicide note also contained amounts borrowed from loan sharks and 900,000 won for Deputy Director Cho and 400,000 won for Senior Manager Ko. The debt, which started with hundreds of thousands of won, seems to have increased by more than 10 million won in less than a month, reaching a killer interest rate of thousands of percent annually. Mr. A complained to his acquaintances 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 later than he was supposed to repay the money.

(Anchor)
I also met a former private lender who has since become involved in illegal private financing, what are they talking about?

(Correspondent)
Yes, reporters interviewed and heard internal testimony from a former private moneylender who worked for more than two years at an illegal private financial company. He said what he learned as soon as he stepped into crime was how it could frighten him, particularly the ‘collection of acquaintances’ Mr A was exposed to. If the debtor doesn’t give you the money immediately, he told you to threaten him with your personal information, false information, or even nude pictures as collateral. Let’s listen for ourselves.

(Old loan shark) You have to scare him first. Who is your father? I borrowed money, pay it back. Why don’t you pay me back? If you can’t repay me, send me a naked photo of yourself instead. If you reveal ○○ I will reduce the interest a bit….)

(Correspondent)
He also explained that he gave loans for this purpose and took the contact information of his acquaintances as collateral or installed a program on his mobile phone that would extract the entire address book.

(Anchor)
In addition, detailed criminal methods reminiscent of criminal organizations were also included. Please explain.

(Correspondent)
Yes, the peculiarity of illegal loan sharks is that they only communicate with debtors without meeting face to face, take fake positions and never reveal themselves. SNS evaded police pursuit by using fake phones and fake bank accounts, particularly using Telegram, which has strong security, as a criminal tool. Reporters personally checked three “debtor information rooms” on Telegram, which are operated through strict certification. As many as 800 loan sharks banded together to distribute personal information such as debtors’ names, years of birth, and residences and misuse it for illegal collection purposes.

(Anchor)
As soon as YTN launched the planning report, President Yoon Suk Yeol personally gave the order, what was the matter?

(Correspondent)
The day after YTN’s first report, President Yoon said that he couldn’t help being angry after hearing the news. Illegal debt collection is a terrible crime that ruins the lives of ordinary people, and he ordered the prosecutor’s office and the police to use all their investigative abilities to root them out. He also instructed the financial authorities to re-examine the financial support policy for ordinary people. Despite declaring a “war on illegal private finance” in November last year and even establishing an all-government TF, the damage continued and he repeatedly emphasized a harsh response.

(Anchor)
So much so that the president himself mentioned it, but the status of the delayed police investigation later became moot, right?

(Correspondent)
Yes, reporters confirmed that the illegal harvesting damage was reported to the police about 10 days before A died. An acquaintance of A, who received threatening messages from loan sharks, first notified the police intelligence officer, but this was reported to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency only after A died. And 46 days after an acquaintance announced the damage a month later, the Jongam Police Station in Seoul launched a formal investigation. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief Kim Bong-sik expressed regret that YTN had signaled such a slow response. He explained that the police intelligence officer received a telephone report from an acquaintance of A, but this took time because the details were not clear. Additionally, a senior police official explained that the official investigation began about a month after the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that the process of changing the investigation department was postponed, considering the seriousness of the incident.

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

(Correspondent)
Three days after Chairman Yoon’s order, reporters contacted the loan company directly through the loan brokerage platform. Many charged interest rates of over 100% per week and 5,200% per year, but all of these killer interest rates are illegal. They also asked for acquaintances’ contact information and family relationship documents as collateral, and the loan sharks who collected them illegally stuck to this method. I even pretended to be the official registrar, but when I searched the Credit Business Finance Association and the registration number and company name, nothing came up.

(Anchor)
Against this background, a weak registration system and a low level of penalties for credit affairs?

(Correspondent)
Yes, the credit business law enacted in 2002 adopts a “registration system” to promote private credit business, but the problem is that the barriers to entry are very low. With more than 10 million won and 18 hours of training, anyone can sign up for a loan business without a resident employee. For this reason, as of this year, the number of registered lending institutions across the country is 8,597, and small companies are scattered. Additionally, penalties for unregistered business and illegally high interest rates have remained the same for 22 years, and even if they are punished, most result in suspended imprisonment or fines. However, while the Turkish Grand National Assembly brought up similar details again and again, it did not even properly discuss the amendment to the Credit Commercial Law. More than half of the journalists who investigated the revision of the credit affairs law from the 17th Grand National Assembly of Turkey to the 22nd Grand National Assembly of Turkey were abandoned at the end of their term of office. When the single mother case became known, the ruling and opposition parties decided to take up the bill in this regular session of the Parliament and further discussions were initiated on additional additional issues as illegal private loans and collections brought the lives of ordinary people to the brink. measures are needed.

(Anchor)
Yes, thank you very much. It was Lee Hyun-jung, a reporter from the Ministry of Social Affairs.

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