Campaign aims to protect financially vulnerable from illegal lenders

'We will work to establish a healthy financial culture'

Kakao Pay Securities CEO Shin Ho-cheol (center) poses with employees after joining the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency's "life-saving finance" relay campaign. [Kakao Pay Securities]
Kakao Pay Securities CEO Shin Ho-cheol (center) poses with employees after joining the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency's "life-saving finance" relay campaign. [Kakao Pay Securities]

Kakao Pay Securities announced Thursday it had joined the "life-saving finance" relay campaign, an initiative aimed at preventing harm from illegal lending.

Organized by the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency, the campaign is designed to protect financially vulnerable people from illegal lenders and raise awareness of inclusive finance as a means of helping people make a fresh start. Since July, financial institutions, public institutions and local governments have been spreading the campaign message through social media, each nominating the next participant to keep the relay going.

Kakao Pay Securities CEO Shin Ho-cheol joined the relay after being nominated by Kyobo Securities CEO Lee Seok-gi. Shin in turn nominated Coscom President Yun Chang-hyeon and Yuanta Securities Korea CEO Luo Zhifeng as the next participants.

Kakao Pay Securities has also been working to prevent financial fraud and promote sound financial practices. The company has been strengthening its internal protection systems to help users access its services with confidence. In April, it took part in a relay campaign against illegal youth gambling organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. On Oct. 15, it sponsored "Money Money Happy Talk," a financial-culture talk show hosted by the Finance and Happiness Network for 100 newlywed couples.

"The entire financial sector must come together to protect consumers from the dangers of illegal lending," Shin said. "Kakao Pay Securities will reinforce safeguards across all user-facing services and work to help a healthy financial culture take root."

Kakao Pay Securities, which champions what it calls "warm capitalism," is also running campaigns that give every couple married this year up to 100,000 won ($76) worth of shares as a wedding gift, and that will give every newborn next year 100,000 won worth of shares as a birthday present. The wedding-gift share campaign drew particular attention, surpassing 30,000 verified marriage participants within two weeks of its launch.


yuni@heraldcorp.com