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, if a death report is filed, all financial transactions conducted under the name of the deceased will be entirely suspended across the entire financial sector beginning the following day. This measure is intended to prevent fraudulent financial transactions that exploit the names of deceased individuals.

The Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and Korea Credit Information Services announced on September 6 that they will officially launch the 'Rapid Suspension System for Financial Transactions in the Name of Deceased Individuals,' in which all financial institutions will participate.

Previously, some financial companies had used information from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, provided via Korea Credit Information Services, just once a month to block financial transactions in the names of deceased individuals. However, as the death registration deadline is one month and the information was only shared once per month, it could take up to two months for financial companies to confirm a death. In addition, the agencies that could use this information were limited to certain financial institutions such as banks, leading to concerns that there were gaps in preventing identity theft using the names of the deceased.

In response, over the past year, the government and financial authorities have coordinated with relevant agencies and financial companies to build an integrated public-private system that links the entire process, from the creation and sharing of death information to the blocking of financial transactions.

With the implementation of this new system, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will now provide information about deceased individuals once daily, instead of once a month. Financial companies will be able to check this information in real time during both in-person and online financial transactions, and transactions will be immediately blocked when the individual is confirmed to be deceased.

The scope of application will also be expanded from just banks to all 4,890 financial firms, including insurance, credit card, securities, savings banks, and cooperatives. Once a person is confirmed as deceased, all financial transactions—except for essential transactions such as deposits—will be stopped by default. However, emergency and unavoidable withdrawals, such as those needed for the deceased's medical expenses or funeral costs, will be permitted as exceptions.

Bereaved family members will not need to apply separately to block financial transactions. Once a death report is filed, the relevant information will be automatically linked between Korea Credit Information Services and financial companies, leading to the blocking of transactions.

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

The Financial Supervisory Service plans to continually monitor financial companies' management of death information and internal controls in cooperation with relevant agencies.

The financial authorities and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated, "We expect this improvement to help protect citizens' assets and prevent fraudulent financial transactions," adding, "We will work closely with Korea Credit Information Services and financial companies to minimize inconvenience for bereaved families and ensure stable implementation of the system."

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