Prosecutors Seek 8-Year Prison Sentence for Loan Shark Who Drove Single Mother to Suicide

Prosecutors have requested an eight-year prison sentence in the appellate trial for a loan shark who drove a single mother in her 30s to her death through illegal debt collection practices after charging interest rates exceeding 5,000 percent. During the final hearing held yesterday (July 7) at the Seoul Northern District Court, the prosecution asked the court to sentence 34-year-old Kim, who is charged with violating the Loan Business Act and the Debt Collection Act, to eight years in prison. In addition, the prosecution amended the indictment to include previously omitted criminal proceeds and requested the forfeiture of 7.77 million won in illegal profits. Kim is accused of lending a total of 17.6 million won to six victims between July and November 2024 without registering as a loan business, and engaging in illegal debt collection by threatening the victims' families and acquaintances. The annual interest rates set by Kim ranged from 2,400 percent to 5,200 percent, which is more than 100 times the legal interest rate limit of 20 percent. Kim also lent money at high interest rates to a single mother in her 30s, identified as A, and subjected her to persistent illegal debt collection, even going so far as to call the kindergarten her daughter attended to make threats. The case sparked public outrage when A, unable to endure the harassment, left a suicide note and took her own life in September 2024. In his final statement yesterday, Kim mentioned his own son, who was born in the same year that A died. "I realized how heavy life is while looking at my son, and only after becoming a father did I realize how difficult it must have been for the victims," Kim said, pleading for a chance to live a new life. Kim has reached additional settlements with five of the victims and submitted letters of non-punishment. Previously, in April, the first-instance court sentenced Kim to four years in prison and ordered the confiscation of seized items along with the forfeiture of 7.17 million won. The appellate court's ruling on Kim is scheduled for August 14. Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Ryu Ji-soo | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News

※