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Busan Metropolitan City Conducts On-Site Inspections of 51 Loan Companies to Prevent Damage from Illegal Private Financing

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Acting Mayor Kim Kyung-duk, announced that it will conduct six rounds of on-site inspections through November on 51 loan companies operating within the city in cooperation with the city’s 16 districts and counties. The initiative aims to prevent harm to ordinary citizens from private financing and establish a sound business order within the lending industry.

The inspection schedule is as follows:
1st round (April 1–April 30), 2nd round (May 1–May 30), 3rd round (June 1–June 30), 4th round (September 1–September 30), 5th round (October 1–October 31), and 6th round (November 2–November 30).

The inspections will primarily target businesses located near major commercial districts with high demand for living and business funds, as well as companies that have not been inspected for a long period.

In particular, this will be the first time that loan advertisement monitoring will be conducted in parallel with joint on-site inspections following the enactment of the Busan Metropolitan City Ordinance on the Management of Loan Advertisements in October last year.

Key inspection items include the appropriateness of loan contracts, such as whether mandatory items are properly stated, compliance with statutory interest rate limits, and whether excessive lending or false and exaggerated advertisements are involved.

Amid ongoing economic difficulties, false and exaggerated loan advertisements have recently been increasing, raising the risk of citizens being exposed to damage from illegal private financing.

Accordingly, the city plans to strengthen supervision and inspections of loan companies and respond strictly to businesses that violate relevant laws and regulations.

As of January 2026, a total of 411 loan companies were registered in Busan Metropolitan City. If violations are identified during inspections, the city will impose administrative measures such as license revocation, business suspension, and fines.

In addition, violations subject to criminal punishment will be referred to the relevant police stations for investigation.

The city also plans to conduct a survey on the status of loan businesses in July to examine compliance with the Loan Business Act and carry out additional on-site inspections in the second half of the year to continue strong sanctions against illegal activities such as violations of interest rate regulations.

Last year (2025), the city inspected 49 loan companies and imposed fines on 10 businesses for issues including omissions in contract documents. It also requested the suspension of telephone numbers used in 193 illegal loan advertisements.

During the first half of this year, the city inspected 27 loan companies and imposed a partial business suspension on one company and fines on six companies for violations including failure to handwrite important contract information.

The city plans to additionally inspect 24 more companies in the second half of the year and continue imposing strong sanctions against illegal activities.

Citizens who suffer damage from illegal or unfair practices may seek assistance from the Financial Supervisory Service Illegal Private Financing Reporting Center (☎1332), the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service (☎1600-5500), the Financial Supervisory Service website, the Busan Metropolitan City Economic Policy Division (☎051-888-4757), or the loan business departments of district and county offices.

Kim Bong-cheol, Assistant Mayor of Digital Economy Office, stated, “As concerns over damage caused by illegal private financing continue to grow amid difficult economic conditions, we will do our utmost to prevent harm to citizens through on-site inspections of 51 loan companies and monitoring of loan advertisements.” He added, “We will continue to strengthen supervision and inspections to create a sound private financing environment that citizens can use with confidence.”