A loan shark who caused the death of a single mother in her 30s through illegal high-interest loans and threatening debt collection has been sentenced to four years in prison and taken into custody.
Judge Kim Hoe-geun of the Seoul Northern District Court's 12th Criminal Division on Thursday sentenced a man surnamed Kim to four years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 7.17 million won in criminal proceeds. Kim was indicted on charges including violations of the Lending Business Act, Debt Collection Act, Electronic Financial Transactions Act, Telecommunications Business Act, and the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment. The court revoked his bail and remanded him into custody.
Kim was charged with lending a total of 17.6 million won to six people without registering as a licensed lender between July and November 2024, applying annual interest rates ranging from 2,409% to 5,214%. This is up to 260 times the legal maximum interest rate of 20% per year. He was also charged with sending threatening messages to family members and acquaintances of debtors, and operating his lending business using bank accounts and mobile phones registered under other people's names.
The case drew significant public attention after it emerged during the trial that one of the victims, a single mother in her 30s raising a kindergarten-age daughter, left a suicide note and took her own life in September 2024 after being subjected to illegal debt collection. Her note reportedly read, "I am too ashamed to even express how sorry I am to those who suffered mentally and physically because of me," and "I am sorry to the child I am leaving behind."
"The defendant exploited economically vulnerable debtors for profit and routinely engaged in degrading insults and threats," the court stated. "Although not included in the formal charges, the defendant's debt collection was so harsh that it drove a person who was barely getting by, raising her child day by day, to give up on life. A stern accountability must be imposed."