Gov't to intensify clampdown on illegal lending

Published : Apr 26, 2016 - 15:37 Updated : Apr 26, 2016 - 16:01

The government said Tuesday that it will launch a massive crackdown on illegal private lending and other crimes that threaten the livelihoods and safety of ordinary people.

The crackdown is part of a government drive to root out loan sharks amid concerns that such illegal acts are undermining the government's efforts to maintain a firm cap on the maximum loan interest rate currently set at 27.9 percent, down from 34.9 percent in the past.

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (Yonhap)

Under the plan, the government will open call centers nationwide to collect reports of financial and other damage from such private moneylenders, such as violating the upper limit on interest rates as well as threats and assaults.

The special crackdown begins on June 1 and will run through July 31, officials said.

The measure was drawn up during a safety meeting presided over by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and attended by justice and interior ministers, as well as other related government officials.

Along with the clampdown, the government said it will extend support for victims, increasing the annual amount of low-interest loans by 1 trillion won ($871 million) to 5.7 trillion won.

The government will also intensify crackdown on illegal smuggling of drugs through express mail and the Internet amid a rise in the number of such offenders.

The number of drug offenders arrested in the first half of 2015 increased on the back of a spike in Internet-based transactions, according to police data.

The number of people arrested for selling and buying narcotics on the Internet in the period came to 599, nearly 2.5 times larger than the 226 offenders detected a year earlier, according to the data.

The government has been making efforts to tighten control over Internet transactions of illegal drugs, especially to prevent a rise in teenage drug use. (Yonhap)