Expert counselors to visit bases from late November

Personalized assessments to cover income, spending, credit and debt

Created with generative AI
Created with generative AI

Service members will be able to receive one-on-one financial counseling from professional advisers directly at their bases, the government announced Tuesday. The sessions will cover personalized assessments of income, spending, debt and credit, along with tailored asset management guidance. The move comes amid growing concern that rising military salaries and wider access to mobile financial services have left troops increasingly exposed to financial risks — including debt-fueled investment in shares and virtual assets, online gambling and high-interest loans.

The Financial Services Commission, South Korea's Ministry of National Defense and the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency said they will operate a "mobile financial counseling service" to strengthen the financial management skills of young people on active duty. The program is open to officers, non-commissioned officers, enlisted personnel and civilian military employees between the ages of 19 and 34.

Professional financial counselors will visit bases and provide one-on-one consultations to those who sign up. Drawing on the results of an online financial assessment, counselors will offer advice tailored to each individual's situation, covering asset building, income and spending management, and credit and debt management.

The initiative was designed to address a gap in existing youth financial counseling services, which active-duty personnel have found difficult to access due to constraints on their time and movement. It follows a plan to strengthen financial education for service members adopted at the second Financial Education Council meeting in August.

Military units wishing to participate must apply to the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency by Nov. 13. Counseling schedules will then be arranged with each unit, with on-site sessions set to begin in late November. Group educational sessions on asset management, income, credit and debt will also be offered alongside the individual consultations.

The FSC and the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency have been running a "financial counseling for all youth" program since July. By the end of September, about 19,000 people had received counseling — in person or online — far exceeding the 2,502 who used the service throughout all of last year. Satisfaction scores averaged 4.7 out of 5.

The Financial Services Commission office inside Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu [Yonhap]
The Financial Services Commission office inside Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu [Yonhap]

The service is not limited to military personnel — any person between the ages of 19 and 34 can access it anywhere in the country. Those who complete a counseling session will also receive a 0.2 percentage point preferential interest rate on the Youth Future Savings account. Holders of the Youth Leap Account or the Youth Future Savings account may apply for counseling regardless of age.

Kim Dong-hwan, director general of the FSC's financial consumer bureau, said the shift toward digital financial services has raised the likelihood that young people on active duty will be exposed to a range of financial risks. "We will work actively with the Defense Ministry to help service members build the skills they need to manage their finances on their own," he said.

Meanwhile, financial regulators are pursuing a "one unit, one financial firm" initiative that pairs a single financial company with a single military unit to provide regular financial education for troops. Banks are expected to develop programs focused on fraud prevention, credit management and loan management, while investment firms will cover the risks of debt-fueled investing and leveraged trading.


rim@heraldcorp.com