Lee Chanjin: "Will Guide Banks to Increase Voluntary Compensation for Voice Phishing" [2026 Parliamentary Audit]

On claims that court rulings recognize bank liability for '40% of losses'
"Banks' compensation rates are low... This is a very serious problem"

Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chanjin said on Oct. 22, "The compensation rate offered by banks for voice phishing losses is so low that this is a very serious problem," adding that he plans to issue guidance to financial companies.

Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chanjin answers lawmakers' questions during a parliamentary audit of the Financial Supervisory Service and other agencies at the National Assembly on Oct. 19, 2026. Photo by Yoon Dongju

Lee made the remarks during a parliamentary audit of the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service and other agencies by the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, in response to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jeon Hyunhee's criticism that compensation from banks and other financial institutions has been inadequate even after the introduction of a voluntary compensation scheme for voice phishing victims.

According to Jeon, voice phishing losses totaled 281.1 billion won last year, while compensation amounted to about 1.08 billion won.

Jeon said that although some court rulings have recognized bank liability of up to about 40% of the losses, the compensation paid has remained low. She also said that banks entirely exclude compensation in cases where victims transfer funds after being deceived by fraudsters, and in cases where victims hand over personal information such as their identification cards and phone numbers, despite court rulings holding that banks should compensate victims in these circumstances.

In response to the criticism that "a compensation system should at least be established in line with court rulings," Lee said, "I believe the very low compensation rate offered by financial institutions is a very serious problem. While I believe that, fundamentally and over the medium to long term, a no-fault liability compensation system should be institutionalized, I will do everything possible to guide the industry toward applying standards in line with court rulings."

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