Ghost lenders use registered addresses, KBS reports

KBS reported that victims of illegal private lending continue to emerge even though only officially registered lenders are permitted to operate. The broadcaster said its report examined how illegal lenders presented themselves as legitimate companies.

According to KBS, one commercial building with restaurants and private academies was listed as the registered address of a lending company licensed by the Financial Services Commission. At the location, KBS said it found an empty shared office instead of a lending office, with no signboard and no company name visible.

KBS said it visited another registered lending company and found only one desk and three chairs in a shared office, with no employees present. The broadcaster described the companies as ghost lenders posing as legitimate businesses.

According to KBS, companies registering as lenders with the Financial Services Commission and local governments must show they have a fixed office where employees actually work. The report said the companies used shared-office addresses and appeared only during district office inspections, enabling them to avoid oversight.

KBS reported that the companies advertised on online loan brokerage platforms. When borrowers made inquiries, their contact information was passed to illegal lenders, according to the broadcaster.

A voice-altered employee at Lending Company A said that if the company a borrower called did not answer, someone from a partner company would be assigned to contact the borrower. A voice-altered employee at Lending Company B asked whether the person had been looking for a loan and whether they needed money after being asked how the company had obtained the number.

KBS said borrowers believed they were dealing with a registered lender but were ultimately connected to an illegal lender. Lim Hyung-jun, director of the Household Finance Division at the Financial Services Commission, said the crimes are hard to eliminate because offenders can make substantial profits by exploiting borrowers in desperate situations.

According to KBS, police caught more than 1,500 illegal money lenders over the past six months. The broadcaster said more than half of the victims were young people in their 20s and 30s.