South Korea floods illegal debt collectors' numbers with calls to disable them

South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has implemented a novel system to combat illegal debt collection by rendering harassing phone numbers unusable. The new measure targets numbers used for high-interest loans exceeding 20% annual interest or for illegal collection practices. Under a law revised in July last year, telecommunication companies can suspend these numbers. However, the process, involving review by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the telecom providers, could take up to seven days. During this period, victims often continue to receive abusive calls. To mitigate this, the FSS will now proactively disable these numbers. Victims can submit a request through the FSS website with evidence of harassment. The FSS will then initiate a barrage of calls to the reported number at 2-3 second intervals, effectively blocking any legitimate calls and making the number unusable. Following this, the FSS requests the Ministry of Science and ICT to officially suspend the number. The FSS estimates this process will reduce the deactivation period to about three days. "We will continue to monitor illegal financial activities and swiftly block means of illegal behavior to minimize damage," the FSS stated. This initiative is expected to provide significant relief to individuals targeted by predatory lenders and aggressive debt collectors.

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We will continue to monitor illegal financial activities and swiftly block means of illegal behavior to minimize damage.