After eight months of an intensive crackdown on illegal private lending practices, the government said Monday it has caught more than 10,000 lenders and imposed billions of won in additional taxes.
In April, the government declared war on loan sharks and launched a massive clampdown on practicing usury, which mostly victimizes people in lower income brackets who often turn to them after being denied access to financing by major institutions.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, the law enforcement authorities nabbed a total of 10,702 loan sharks, and brought criminal charges against 290 of them between April and early this month.
After a probe into 352 loan sharks suspected of tax evasion, the National Tax Service also levied additional taxes worth 286.6 billion won ($267.3 million), according to the government.
Along with the clampdown, the government said it has extended support for victims, increasing the amount of "easy loans" by 1 trillion won to 4 trillion won, providing 1,973 victims with legal counseling services, and helping 550 victims with 857 lawsuits.
"We will push for diverse measures to eradicate illegal lending practices in a consistent manner," Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said. "Officials should not forget their resolute willingness to prevent the people from falling prey to such crimes."
In a survey of 1,000 citizens and 500 victims of illegal private lending, 40.8 percent of the respondents called on the government to expand support for financing available for lower income brackets, and 28.4 percent asked for stronger punishment for "vicious" loan sharks, according to Kim's office. (Yonhap)