As illegal gambling and high-interest private lending targeting military personnel have increased recently, heads of domestic financial institutions are visiting Chonbang units one after another to provide financial education.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 27th, Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), will visit the Army 31st Infantry Division in Gwangju, South Jeolla, on the 30th and conduct about 40 minutes of financial education for the troops. At the session, Lee plans to explain topics ranging from measures to prevent illegal gambling that threatens young people to basic knowledge on efficiently managing military pay. The Financial Supervisory Service is said to have closely consulted with the Ministry of National Defense since early this year for this training.
Earlier, on the 10th, Kim Eun-kyung, head of the Korea INclusive Finance Agency (KINFA) and chair of the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service (CCRS), visited the Army 6th Infantry Division in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, to conduct economic education. While the FSS and KINFA have signed business agreements with the Army to support credit education for soldiers and debt adjustment, this is the first time the head of an institution has visited the field to meet soldiers face-to-face.
The financial authorities view military personnel as a key management target. As soldiers' monthly pay rises and smartphone use time increases, illegal gambling or private lending ads targeting their funds are on the rise. Online, loan advertisements under the names "loyalty loan" and "sergeant loan" are easy to find. These products have a loan limit of 10 million to 15 million won with annual interest rates reaching 17.9% to 20%.
According to the FSS and the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service (CCRS), as of the end of last year, the outstanding loan balance of personal credit loans by military personnel was about 44.4 billion won. The debt adjustment amount for military personnel who underwent debt restructuring was 10.24 billion won, up 82.5% from 5.61 billion won in 2021.
The FSS has decided to operate a "three-stage financial education" system this year that covers service members from enlistment to discharge. Immediately after enlistment, it will provide preventive education on the risks of high-risk investments such as virtual assets; in the middle of service, it will build capabilities in asset and liability management; and just before discharge, it will focus on developing economic self-reliance.