“Registered Moneylenders Linked to Illegal Lending Crimes” — FSS Uses AI to Track Organized Crime Kingpins

[Financial News] The number of illegal-lending victim cases linked to the so-called “Director Lee” case uncovered by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) last March has been found to exceed 120, double the initial 62. An FSS analysis using artificial intelligence (AI) of approximately 380,000 reports of illegal-lending victim cases filed to date revealed further details about the scale of crimes linked to the organization known as “Director Lee.”
The FSS said on the 25th that it had established an AI analysis system to support investigations into organized crime related to illegal lending.
The FSS said that operating the AI analysis system had enabled it to gain a more comprehensive picture of the overall structure of the crimes and the forces behind them. For example, it identified numerous cases in which a single organization had continued committing crimes against multiple victims, as in the “Director Lee” case that prompted a consumer alert last March.

The analysis confirmed that victim cases previously reported individually were crimes committed by specific illegal-lending firms, laying the groundwork for tracking down the core of these organizations. It also uncovered signs that the groups had divided up tasks, handling illegal-lending advertising and operations, loans, and debt collection separately. The FSS said it had also detected signs that duly registered firms were involved in illegal operations—something that had gone unnoticed in manual reviews. “We found signs that some registered moneylenders used the trust placed in the regulated financial system as a shield while secretly engaging in loan-sharking,” an FSS official said. Investigations into individual cases have now been elevated to organized-crime cases.
The FSS plans to interview victims and conduct on-site inspections of dozens of registered firms it has identified as having a high likelihood of violating the Money Lending Business Act, as well as carry out joint crackdowns with relevant agencies. The FSS urged the public: “Even a small tip can be the decisive clue that exposes an entire organization, so if you have been victimized, please do not hesitate to report it to the Financial Supervisory Service.” It added: “Even if a moneylender is officially registered, report it immediately if it separately demands advance interest in cash or refers you to another lender.”
[email protected] Jo Eun-hyo Reporter