"We lend you money." Loan advertisements are flooding loan brokerage platforms and social media. There are people who knocked on those doors in need of quick cash, only to face unmanageable debt a week later. It has been one year since the revised Money Lending Act, which nullifies interest on illegal loan contracts, came into effect. However, the law feels distant, while debt collection is close at hand. We track the insidious operating principles of the illegal private lending ecosystem that swallows up the daily lives of ordinary people.

■ "The collateral was an acquaintance's contact information"... A daily life swallowed by 1 million won

A self-employed individual in their 30s took out private loans as their business declined due to the recession in the construction industry. When borrowing 1 million won in urgent cash, what they handed over to the lender was not goods, but their ID card, a photo of their face, and the contact information of their acquaintances. As repayment was delayed, the lenders began so-called "acquaintance collection," sending text messages to the victim's parents and acquaintances in unison. The average loan amount for the victims interviewed by the reporting team was 920,000 won, with a repayment period of around ten days. We listened firsthand to the stories of victims trapped in a vicious cycle of taking on new debt to repay existing debts.

■ Asking Illegal Private Lenders

After much searching, our reporting team met directly with small-scale private lenders who are still in operation. Why do they handle only small amounts of money on ultra-short-term basis, rather than large sums? We heard from current and former private lenders about the traps set by operators who charge interest rates well exceeding the legal maximum, and the specific sequence in which illegal debt collection is designed.

■ Reporters' Phone Numbers Sold in 4 Hours… People Who Became 'DBs'

The names and phone numbers of people looking for loans become a product known as a 'database (DB).' When our reporting team left an inquiry on a loan brokerage platform under a pseudonym, that number was being traded among DB sellers for 4,000 won per record within just four hours. Our reporting team contacted DB sellers directly to track the channels through which personal information is being distributed. The police investigation team that arrested over 200 illegal private lenders last year states, "The completion of all crimes is DB."

■ The 'Mask of Legality' of Registered Lending Companies

Can we trust lending companies registered with financial authorities? When our reporting team called 47 registered lending companies advertising on loan brokerage platforms one by one, most did not answer. Instead, less than 10 minutes later, calls soliciting loans began coming in from numbers we had never contacted before. We examined the pathways through which victims are drawn into illegal private lending behind the facade of being a "registered company," as well as the loopholes in the system that fail to filter out unqualified firms. #CurrentAffairsPlanningChang #IllegalPrivateLoan #IllegalPrivateLoan #PersonalLoan #PrivateLoan #Collection #CollectionFromAcquaintances #LendingBusinessAct #LendingCompany #DB

Reporter: Choi Eun-jin
Cameraman: Im Tae-ho
Video Editor: Kim Dae-young
Research: Jang Su-bin
Assistant Director: Yoon Sang-hoon

Broadcast: September 1, 2026, 10:00 PM, KBS 1TV Current Affairs Planning Chang

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