Extortionate Annual Interest Rates Up to 13,000%: Illegal Lending Ring Arrested After Targeting 952 Victims

The ringleader and other members of an illegal loan shark organization that reaped over 900 million won in profits through brutal interest rates reaching up to an annualized 13,000% have been caught.

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it has apprehended 16 individuals, including a man in his 30s identified as A, on charges of violating the Loan Business Act, and detained two of them.

Interpol red notices have been requested for three suspects who are currently fleeing overseas.

According to police, A and the other suspects operated based in the Daegu area from June of last year to May of this year.

They lent a total of approximately 1.66 billion won across 2,850 transactions to 952 victims, with individual loans ranging from a minimum of 100,000 won to a maximum of 4 million won.

They are accused of subsequently extorting interest rates reaching a maximum of 13,000% annually.

The gang's methods were vicious.

When executing loans, they demanded handwritten promissory notes featuring the debtors' faces along with contact information for 10 or more acquaintances. If the money was not repaid by the agreed date, they unleashed verbal abuse and harassed the debtors' families and others for collection.

The organization was also systematic.

They operated centering around a ringleader in charge of securing operating funds and recruiting staff.

It was revealed that they carried out the crimes systematically by dividing roles, such as management personnel providing burner accounts and burner phones, and a loan execution team exclusively dedicated to debt collection.

Police obtained a pre-indictment preservation order for approximately 404 million won of their criminal proceeds.

Furthermore, they stepped in to provide one-stop comprehensive support for illegal private financing to help the victims.

Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Design by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.