Financial Transactions Blocked from the Day After Death Report... Implementation Across All Financial Institutions on the 11th

Participation from 4,890 Companies Including Banks, Insurance, and Securities Firms
Automatic Blocking Without Separate Application by Bereaved Families

Starting from September 11, all financial transactions under the name of a deceased person will be fully suspended across all financial institutions from the day after a death report is filed. This measure aims to prevent illegal financial transactions using the identities of deceased individuals.

The Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Korea Credit Information Services announced on September 6 that they will formally launch the 'Rapid Blocking System for Financial Transactions Under the Name of Deceased Persons,' which will be implemented across the entire financial sector.

Previously, some financial companies had received information about deceased individuals from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety via the Korea Credit Information Services only once a month, which was used to block related financial transactions. However, since the deadline for death reports is one month and information was shared only once a month, it could take financial companies up to two months to confirm a death. In addition, only a limited number of financial companies, such as banks, had access to this information. This caused blind spots in preventing the misuse of deceased individuals' identities.

To address these issues, the government and financial authorities, after more than a year of discussions with related institutions and financial companies, have established an integrated public-private system linking the entire process—from the creation and sharing of death information to the blocking of financial transactions.

With the implementation of the new system, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will shorten the provision cycle for death information from once a month to once a day. Financial companies can then verify this information in real-time during both face-to-face and non-face-to-face transactions, and as soon as a customer is confirmed as deceased, all transactions will be immediately blocked.

The scope of application will also expand from only banks to all 4,890 companies in various financial sectors, including insurance, cards, securities firms, savings banks, and mutual finance institutions. In principle, once a person is confirmed as deceased, all financial transactions will be suspended except for essential ones such as deposits. However, exceptions will be made in urgent and unavoidable cases, such as withdrawals for the deceased's medical or funeral expenses.

Bereaved families will no longer need to separately apply for the blocking of financial transactions. Once a death report is filed, the relevant information will be automatically linked to the Korea Credit Information Services and financial companies, resulting in transactions being blocked without extra procedures.

Internal controls to prevent the misuse of death information will also be strengthened. The Korea Credit Information Services will revise its credit information management regulations to prohibit using death information for purposes other than blocking financial transactions or providing it to third parties. Financial companies will be required to electronically record and manage both the handling of death information and their transaction history.

The Financial Supervisory Service plans to regularly inspect how financial companies manage death information and internal controls, in collaboration with relevant institutions.

The financial authorities and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated, "We expect this improvement will help protect citizens’ assets and prevent illegal financial transactions," adding, "We will work together with the Korea Credit Information Services and financial companies to minimize inconvenience to bereaved families and ensure that the policy is robustly established."

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