Single Mom's "Devil Collection" to the brink...What is the status of illegal bonds?

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

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN New Square 8PM] when quoting.

[Anchor]
YTN continues to report on the status of illegal private loans revealed through the story of a single mother in her 30s who died after suffering from vicious collection. With President Yoon Suk Yeol instructing the prosecution and police to mobilize all investigative capabilities, attention is being paid to whether the case will be able to combat illegal private finance. Let's talk in detail with reporter Lee Hyun-jung, who has been covering this case. Hi, this reporter. First, please explain how you came to cover this "single mom illegal collection" 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, died while suffering from illegal collection. Considering that the victim made an extreme choice, the reporters carefully and carefully covered it, and in a month, they were able to contact the bereaved family and acquaintances with difficulty. After that, I contacted A's acquaintances and secured threatening messages and phone records sent by loan sharks. The message contained insults and false information toward Mr. A, as well as sensitive personal information such as family photos, resident registration numbers, and home addresses. A's acquaintances said that hundreds of such messages poured out indiscriminately every day. Let's listen to it.

[Mr. A's acquaintance: It's hard to raise a child alone and live with a sick father.... I had been getting more than a hundred text messages in a day for several days.]

[Reporter]
It was found that loan sharks even called the kindergarten where A's daughter attends and threatened to go see the child. The reporters judged that the loan sharks' crimes were serious enough to kill a woman, and they started to report in earnest.

[Anchor]
In the subsequent report, the suicide note secured through the bereaved family caused particular regret. What was it about?

[Reporter]
Mr. A was found dead at a pension in Wanju, Jeollabuk-do on September 22. The suicide note, which was secured by reporters with the consent of the bereaved family, was especially filled with affection for her 6-year-old daughter, who will remain alone. Mr. A repeatedly told his daughter that he loved her numerous times and wrote that he should not forgive himself for not being able to support her and being a big burden. I kept saying sorry for making an immature choice without resentment toward the world, and our reporters were very hurt.

[Mr. A's bereaved family: I hope (the loan shark) won't be able to flourish in the country. It's not all because of them (my daughter).]

[Reporter]
In addition, on the last side of the suicide note, loan sharks and amounts that borrowed money, including 900,000 won for Assistant Manager Cho and 400,000 won for Senior Manager Ko, were found. 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 to a murderous interest rate of thousands of percent per annum. Mr. A complained to his acquaintances that he thought he could borrow a small amount and pay back, but he was pressured to pay 100,000 won more every minute later than the time he was supposed to pay back the money.

[Anchor]
I've also met a former private lender who's been involved in illegal private financing since then, what are they talking about?

[Reporter]
Yes, the reporters met with a former private loan shark who worked for an illegal private financial company for more than two years and heard internal testimony. As soon as he stepped into the crime, he said that what he learned was how to scare him, especially 'collection of acquaintances' that Mr. A had been subjected to. If the debtor doesn't give you the money right away, he told you to threaten your personal information, false information, and even naked pictures as collateral. Let's listen to it for ourselves.

[Former loan shark] You have to scare him first. Who's your dad? I borrowed my money, pay me back. Why don't you pay me back? If you can't pay me back, send me a picture of you naked instead. If you send the ○○ exposed, I will reduce the interest a little....]

[Reporter]
He also explained that he lent money for this and received acquaintances' contact information as collateral, or installed a program on his mobile phone to take out the entire address book.

[Anchor]
It also reported on detailed crime methods reminiscent of criminal organizations. Please explain.

[Reporter]
Yes, the characteristic of illegal loan sharks is that they only communicate non-face-to-face with debtors, take fake positions, and never expose themselves. He avoided police tracking by using SNS, fake phones, and fake bank accounts, especially using Telegram with strong security as a crime tool. The reporters personally checked three "debtor information rooms" that are operated through strict certification on Telegram. As many as 800 loan sharks gathered to distribute personal information such as the names, birth years, and residences of debtors and abuse them for illegal collection.

[Anchor]
As soon as YTN started the planning report, President Yoon Suk Yeol himself gave the order, what was it about?

[Reporter]
The day after YTN's first report, President Yoon said he couldn't help but get angry after hearing the news. Illegal debt collection is a vicious crime that destroys the lives of ordinary people, and he ordered the prosecution and police to use all of their investigative capabilities to root out them. It also ordered financial authorities to re-examine the financial support policy for ordinary people. In November last year, even though he declared a "war on illegal private finance" and even set up a pan-government TF, the damage continued, and he repeatedly emphasized a hard-line response.

[Anchor]
As such, the president mentioned it himself, but the situation of the police's belated investigation later became controversial, right?

[Reporter]
Yes, the reporters confirmed that the illegal collection damage had already been delivered to the police about 10 days before A died. An acquaintance of A, who received threatening messages from loan sharks, first informed the police intelligence officer, but it was reported to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency only after A died. And it was 46 days after an acquaintance announced the damage a month later that the Jongam Police Station in Seoul launched an official investigation. Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, expressed regret when YTN pointed out such a slow response. He explained that the police intelligence officer received a phone call report from an acquaintance of A, but it seems to have taken time because the details were not specific. In addition, a high-ranking police official explained that the official investigation began about a month after the Seoul Metropolitan Government reported that it was delayed in the process of changing the investigation department considering the seriousness of the case.

[Anchor]
But illegal loan sharks are still in full swing?

[Reporter]
Three days after President Yoon's order, the reporters directly contacted the loan company through the loan brokerage platform. Most of them introduced interest rates well over 100% per week and 5,200% per year, but all of these murderous interest rates are illegal. They also asked for the contact information and family relationship certificates of acquaintances as collateral, and loan sharks who illegally collect them were consistent with the method. I even pretended to be an official registration company, but nothing came out when I searched the registration number and company name with the Loan Business Finance Association.

[Anchor]
In this background, there is a poor registration system for loan business and a low level of punishment?

[Reporter]
Yes, the loan business law enacted in 2002 adopts a "registration system" to foster the private loan business, but the problem is that the barriers to entry are too low. With more than 10 million won and 18 hours of training, anyone can register for a loan business without a resident employee. For this reason, as of this year, the number of registered lenders is 8,597 across the country, and small companies are scattered. In addition, sentences for unregistered business and illegal high interest rates have remained the same for 22 years, and even if they are punished, most of them end up with a suspended sentence or a fine. However, the National Assembly has not even discussed the amendment to the Loan Business Act properly while rehashing and rehashing similar details. The reporters investigated the revision of the loan business law from the 17th to the 22nd National Assembly, and more than half of them were abandoned at the end of their term. When the single mom case became known, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to deal with the bill within this regular session of the National Assembly, and since illegal private loans and collection are pushing the lives of ordinary people to the brink, further discussions on supplementary measures are needed.

[Anchor]
Yes, thank you very much. This has been reporter Lee Hyun-jung of the Ministry of Social Affairs.