Photo credit: Korea Herald
An illegal loan ring operated by a Korean father-son duo has been busted, Bussan police said on Monday.
The Korean Herald reports that the ring lent a total of $11 million to more than 9,000 foreign workers at interest rates as high as 154 per cent per annum.
The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said it has referred six members of the ring to the prosecution for violating the Registration of Credit Business and Protection of Finance Users Act.
The mastermind is a 60-year-old Korean national residing in Thailand. He allegedly used his son to run the operation in Korea. Police have requested that the International Criminal Police Organization issue a Red Notice for his arrest.
The son has already been arrested.
The authorities said the duo generated approximately 5.5 billion won in profits from illegal loans since February 2022. They targeted 9,120 financially vulnerable migrant workers, unfamiliar with Korea’s banking system, borrowing between 1 million won and 5 million won each. Most victims were men between their 20s and 30s from Southeast Asia.
