"Accounts of 2030 Youth Melt Under 4.2 Trillion Won 'Bittu'... Woori Financial Group Uses AI to Help Manage Debt"

AI Inclusive Debt Diagnosis to Launch on 36.5 Doro Platform This Year

Personalized Support Including Interest Rate Reduction and Refinancing Through Credit and Debt Analysis

As debt-financed investment, known as "Bittu" (borrowing for investment), rapidly increases among the younger generation, Woori Financial Group is shifting the focus of inclusive finance from merely providing funds to also helping with debt management. The group is now leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to assess consumers’ debt situations and connect them to personalized support, expanding beyond easing interest burdens and providing refinancing options.

According to the financial industry on August 22, Woori Financial Group plans to integrate the “AI Inclusive Debt Diagnosis” service, currently operated by Woori Bank, into its groupwide inclusive finance platform '36.5°' within this year. The aim is to expand the service, which is presently offered through the bank’s mobile application, Woori WON Banking, to the group platform, thereby greatly improving access to inclusive finance.

The AI Inclusive Debt Diagnosis, introduced in June, expands its support for vulnerable groups from simply lending money to offering comprehensive debt management. By utilizing MyData and an internally developed large language model (LLM), the service performs a holistic analysis of consumers’ credit scores, spending levels, debt-to-income adequacy, and loan interest rates. Rather than merely diagnosing, it also connects users to relevant next steps, such as requesting interest rate reductions, refinancing, inclusive loan products, and comprehensive support services for financial stability.

This service is especially highlighted as essential amid the rapidly mounting debt burden among young people, which is closely tied to the increase in stock market margin investments. As of the end of June, the stock margin loan balances for individuals in their 20s and 30s soared to 419.43 billion won—approximately 2.5 times greater than the 176.07 billion won at the end of 2024. Systematic debt management for young consumers has become even more critical, given the surge in forced sales following the sharp drop in stock prices in July.

Additionally, Woori Financial Group continues to provide its traditional financial support. Starting in January this year, Woori Bank applied a “7% interest rate cap” to personal credit loans, easing the interest burden for about 60,000 people by roughly 2 billion won. Through the “Woori WON Dream Living Expense Loan,” aimed at youth, homemakers, and freelancers, the bank supplied 33.7 billion won to 5,000 customers between March and June. In May, Woori Financial Group also launched a refinancing product to help users of group affiliates’ secondary financial institution loans switch to bank loans.

Woori Financial Group has dramatically raised its inclusive finance supply goal for this year from the original 1.2 trillion won to more than 3.5 trillion won. In the first half alone, the group already supplied 2.1 trillion won.

A Woori Financial Group representative stated, "Going forward, we plan to further advance the proprietary LLM of the AI Inclusive Debt Diagnosis, and to expand financial planning content tailored to different age groups, as well as channels linked to MyData."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.