South Korea watchdog finds 26 registered moneylenders over asset limit
In short
South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service found 26 Financial Services Commission-registered moneylenders violating total-asset limits in inspections last year, and some received full business suspensions, according to data submitted to lawmaker Park Sung-hoon's office. Another 17 companies were sanctioned for failing to file business reports, while four companies whose registered addresses could not be verified had their registrations cancelled. Officials attributed the higher number of cases to a surge in inspections after a revised lending law took effect in July last year.
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Financial Supervisory Service inspections last year found 26 moneylenders registered with the Financial Services Commission in violation of rules that cap total assets at a set multiple of their own capital, according to data the FSS submitted to Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the People Power Party, who sits on the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee. Some of the 26 received heavy sanctions, including full suspension of business. Yonhap and Asia Economy reported the same figures. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The FSS also penalised 17 companies for violating the obligation to submit business reports, issuing fines and institutional warnings, and cancelled the registrations of four companies found to have no substance at their registered addresses. Asia Economy named the four as Goldrich Consulting Daebu, Asset Management K Daebu, Kookmin AMC Financial Daebu and JLK Partners Financial Daebu; the other documents do not name them. [ 1 , 3 ]
A financial authority official said the checks were carried out in line with the revised moneylending law that took effect in July last year, with concerted inspections of companies that had failed to file reports and a concentration of written inspections. Inspection cases rose to 68 last year from 11 in 2024, 31 in 2023 and 12 in 2022, and stood at 11 as of July this year. [ 1 , 3 ]
The number of FSC-registered moneylenders rose to 1,035 last year, up 95, or 10.1%, from 940 the previous year, reversing declines from 2022 to 2024. New FSC registrations increased to 190 last year from 145 in 2024, and 50 companies moved their registration from local governments to the FSC last year. Local-government-registered moneylenders fell 1,175, or 15.0%, to 6,661. An industry official attributed the shift to tighter local registration requirements and to companies choosing FSC registration to run debt-purchase and collection businesses. [ 1 , 3 ]
Official registration cancellations recorded by year for FSC-registered moneylenders from 2022 to 2025 totalled zero, according to the submitted data. Both Yonhap and Asia Economy noted that this figure is based on yearly registration records and may differ in basis and timing from sanctions and cancellations that follow inspections. [ 1 , 3 ]
Rep. Park said the cluster of asset-limit violations, violations of reporting duties and companies whose locations could not be confirmed show holes in management and supervision, adding that if oversight does not keep up with the sector's growth the damage ultimately falls on ordinary borrowers, and calling on financial authorities to strengthen routine inspection and follow-up management. The documents also note calls for expanding inspection staff and adding a dedicated inspection team ahead of the introduction of a special judicial police unit for livelihood matters. [ 1 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The documents present the findings as evidence of a supervision gap in a sector that handles emergency borrowing by ordinary people, with a lawmaker arguing that oversight has not kept pace with the industry's growth. Officials say inspections were expanded after the revised lending law took effect. The documents also note calls to add inspection staff and a dedicated inspection team ahead of the introduction of a special judicial police unit for livelihood matters.
Key facts
- FSS inspections last year found 26 FSC-registered moneylenders violating rules that cap total assets at a multiple of their own capital, and some of them received heavy sanctions including full suspension of business. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Seventeen companies were penalised with fines and institutional warnings for violating the obligation to submit business reports. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Four companies with no substance at their registered addresses had their registrations cancelled. [ 1 , 3 ]
- FSS inspection cases rose to 68 last year from 11 in 2024, 31 in 2023 and 12 in 2022; as of July this year there were 11. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The number of FSC-registered moneylenders rose to 1,035 last year, up 95, or 10.1%, from 940 the previous year. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Moneylenders registered with local governments fell to 6,661 last year from 7,836, a drop of 1,175, or 15.0%. [ 1 , 3 ]
- New FSC registrations rose to 190 last year from 145 in 2024, and 50 companies moved their registration from local governments to the FSC last year. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Official registration cancellations recorded by year for FSC-registered moneylenders from 2022 to 2025 totalled zero, though the documents note this count may differ in timing and basis from sanctions and cancellations that follow inspections. [ 1 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Last year's FSS inspections found 26 FSC-registered moneylenders in violation of total-asset limit rules, and some received heavy sanctions including full business suspension. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Seventeen companies were penalised for failing to submit business reports, receiving fines and institutional warnings. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Four companies were found to have no substance at their registered addresses and had their registrations cancelled. [ 1 , 3 ]
- FSS inspection cases jumped to 68 last year from 11 in 2024, and officials said the July implementation of the revised moneylending law led to concerted checks on companies that had not filed reports, with written inspections concentrated in that process. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The number of FSC-registered moneylenders rose 10.1% to 1,035 last year, while local-government-registered moneylenders fell 15.0% to 6,661. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the People Power Party, who sits on the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, said the findings show holes in management and supervision and called on financial authorities to strengthen routine inspection and follow-up management. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the increase in violations reflects worse compliance in the industry or mainly the expanded number of inspections. Officials attribute the rise to a sixfold increase in inspection cases after the revised law took effect, while the lawmaker frames the findings as a supervision failure; the documents do not reconcile the two.
- The specific sanctions imposed on individual companies among the 26, and whether any face criminal or further proceedings. The documents say only that some received heavy sanctions such as full business suspension, without naming companies or detailing penalties.
- The names of the four companies whose registrations were cancelled. Only one document, Asia Economy, names them as Goldrich Consulting Daebu, Asset Management K Daebu, Kookmin AMC Financial Daebu and JLK Partners Financial Daebu; no other document confirms the list.
- Whether the zero official registration-cancellation figure is directly comparable with the inspection results. Both documents say the count is based on yearly registration records and may differ in basis and timing from sanctions and cancellations that follow inspections.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap publishes the report on the FSS inspection findings and registration data, citing material submitted to Rep. Park Sung-hoon's office. [ 1 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports that 26 FSC-registered moneylenders were found violating total-asset limits, some receiving heavy sanctions. [ 2 ]
- Asia Economy reports the same findings and names four companies whose registrations were cancelled as unverifiable at their addresses. [ 3 ]