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Busan Metropolitan City to Intensively Block Phone Numbers Used in Illegal Loan Advertisements in September and October

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, will conduct an intensive two-month campaign beginning in September to suspend phone numbers used in illegal loan advertisements. The initiative is part of the “100-Day Emergency Measures for People’s Livelihoods” and is intended to eradicate illegal private lending that threatens the livelihoods of ordinary citizens and prevent harm to financial consumers.

The measure is designed to prevent further financial harm caused by high-interest loans, debt collection, and related practices by suspending phone numbers used in illegal loan advertisements, including flyers distributed without authorization on streets and spam text messages.

Phone numbers subject to suspension are those contained in illegal loan advertisements featuring terms such as money lending, loans, or daily repayment loans together with a lender’s contact information. Eligible materials include flyers, business cards, text messages, and online posts collected or identified within the past six months.

Citizens or organizations wishing to file a report may attach supporting evidence, such as a collected flyer or a screenshot of a received text message, and submit it through the Safety e-Report mobile app or website. Evidence may also be submitted to the economic affairs department of the relevant district or county or to the Busan Metropolitan City Consumer Affairs Center at 051-888-2141 to 2143.

For reports received, Busan Metropolitan City will verify whether the lender is unregistered and whether the phone number has already been reported. It will then formally request the Central Radio Management Service under the Ministry of Science and ICT to suspend the number and register the case in the relevant system to proceed with the suspension process.

However, cases without supporting evidence, phone numbers belonging to duly registered moneylenders, and duplicate numbers that have already been reported will be excluded from requests for suspension.

During the intensive campaign period, Busan Metropolitan City will strengthen cooperation with its districts and counties and the Consumer Affairs Center to encourage citizens to participate in reporting. It will also work closely with the Ministry of Science and ICT to swiftly block phone numbers used in illegal loan advertisements.

For further information, including how to report collected illegal loan advertising flyers, citizens may contact the department responsible for moneylending businesses in their respective district or county.

Kim Gi-hwan, Assistant Mayor of Digital Economy Office, said, “Illegal loan advertisements are a major gateway to illegal private lending that traps ordinary citizens in high-interest debt. We will do our utmost to cut off access at the source by suspending the phone numbers involved and to prevent financial losses to our citizens.”