Doctors accused of participating in improper loans worth about 100 billion won have been booked by police.
The Seoul Suseo Police Station said on the 27th that it has booked 215 doctors on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and is investigating them.
They are suspected of disguising inflated fake bank deposits as their own funds from 2022 through last year to obtain Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT) guarantees totaling about 130 billion won.
KODIT operates a startup guarantee program. Using it, prospective founders with professional licenses, such as doctors and pharmacists, can receive guarantees for loans of up to 1 billion won.
At the time, to receive a high-value guarantee of 500 million won or more, own funds had to exceed 500 million won. After a series of similar loan frauds, KODIT has issued guarantees based on estimated sales rather than own funds since last year.
Police have also booked one loan broker, who is under investigation. The broker is suspected of helping doctors obtain fake balance certificates and taking 2.2% of the loan amount as a fee.
Some doctors are said to have used the loans to buy apartments, among other things. Police have secured the relevant account information and are analyzing it.