A hotline for debt counseling for the entire public will be created. The government will also expand support hubs so that people struggling with debt can receive relief.
The Financial Services Commission reported the "suicide prevention plan for people in economic crisis," prepared jointly with related ministries, at the Cabinet meeting on the 14th. The plan was prepared as part of the nine sector-specific suicide prevention measures discussed at the 20th Cabinet meeting in May.
First, the Financial Services Commission, in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and ICT, will establish a national debt counseling hotline (1375). The move aims to prevent suicides among people facing difficulties due to excessive debt who do not know about debtor relief and support programs. To provide one-stop guidance and connections to related programs, the hotline will be assigned to the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service (CCRS), which serves as a comprehensive support agency for debtors. The hotline will go into service in Oct. and, given its purpose, will operate on a collect-call basis.
The government will also expand debt support hubs to make debtor relief and support programs more accessible. The Integrated Support Centers for Individual Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy added two more locations on the 2nd of this month, bringing the total from 10 to 12, and the Integrated Support Centers for Inclusive Finance plan to add six to the current 50 locations. In addition, a system will be built at the Korea Credit Information Services to allow applicants for individual rehabilitation or bankruptcy to obtain a liability certificate in one step.
The Financial Services Commission, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, will also push to develop an "economic crisis model" to identify economically at-risk households more quickly using financial and nonfinancial data held by related agencies. The plan is to provide information on people at risk—derived by combining and analyzing financial data such as debt information and nonfinancial data such as health insurance premium payments—to the "at-risk household identification system" run by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Along with this, the financial information linked to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's at-risk household identification system will be expanded. By revising the enforcement decree of the social security benefits act, the government will strengthen the system for identifying economically at-risk households by additionally linking information on vulnerable borrowers among users of policy-based inclusive finance and information on vulnerable debtors among those whose debt restructuring has become effective.
Under the view that finance should support recovery and enhance repayment capacity for low-income and vulnerable groups, the Financial Services Commission has since 2024 operated integrated finance-employment-welfare support that connects employment and welfare services in a one-stop manner for recipients of policy-based inclusive finance and debt restructuring support. In addition, the government plans to offer specialized financial products in collaboration with private financial firms so that financially vulnerable people in economic crisis can manage their economic and financial lives more smoothly while using the integrated support.
BNK Busan Bank will launch the "BNK Financial Ladder Loan and Installment Savings" products for vulnerable borrowers among integrated support users living in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang who are faithfully repaying policy-based inclusive finance, offering preferential interest rates and other benefits. Woori Card plans to launch the "Woori Hope Card (working title)" for integrated support users in the blind spot who find it difficult to use both general credit cards and the policy finance Sunshin Card. Insurers will use the coexistence insurance fund to provide, free of charge to integrated support users, credit life insurance products that guarantee partial repayment of the remaining balance after debt restructuring in the event of a critical illness or death.
Although private financial companies run various corporate social responsibility programs to help overcome economic crisis, related information is scattered, making tailored support difficult. In light of this, the Financial Services Commission plans to provide a comprehensive list of programs and related links through the inclusive finance platform "Itda," allowing users to see private financial firms' CSR programs at a glance. This will improve access so that people facing economic hardship can more easily find the information they need and receive support.