Credit Counseling and Recovery Service launches hotline 1375

FSS, Korea Inclusive Finance Agency among agencies linked for referrals

Total counseling calls up 13.9% during pilot period

Credit Counseling and Recovery Service counselor Park Hyeon-ja (first from left), CCRS Chairwoman Kim Eun-gyeong (second from left), Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won (third from left) and actor Jeong Ae-ri pose with their hands forming the number "1375" at the CCRS call center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Thursday morning. [Credit Counseling and Recovery Service]
Credit Counseling and Recovery Service counselor Park Hyeon-ja (first from left), CCRS Chairwoman Kim Eun-gyeong (second from left), Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won (third from left) and actor Jeong Ae-ri pose with their hands forming the number "1375" at the CCRS call center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Thursday morning. [Credit Counseling and Recovery Service]

People struggling to repay loans or credit card bills — or those harmed by illegal private lenders — can now get help with everything from debt restructuring to personal rehabilitation, bankruptcy and employment and welfare support with a single phone call. The Credit Counseling and Recovery Service has launched a dedicated debt counseling hotline, 1375, and callers who need assistance from another agency can be transferred without hanging up.

The Financial Services Commission and the CCRS held an inauguration ceremony for the 1375 hotline on Thursday, marking the start of full operations. The number encodes the service's mission: "healing a daily life (13) worn down by debt (75)." Counseling is available on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with call charges covered by the CCRS.

The hotline is open not only to borrowers already in arrears but also to those at risk of falling behind. Counselors can guide callers through financial debt restructuring, adjustments to telecommunications and utility bill obligations, court-based personal rehabilitation and bankruptcy filings, and reporting of illegal private lending. Those who also need employment or welfare support can receive guidance on relevant programs in the same call.

Referral links to other agencies have also been strengthened. The CCRS has established a transfer system with the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Legal Aid Corporation, so callers who need specialized assistance can be connected to the appropriate agency without ending the call. Users of the suicide prevention hotline and the health and welfare counseling center can also be transferred to 1375 if they need debt counseling.

For people facing both financial hardship and psychological distress, the CCRS will operate a dedicated in-depth counseling unit. Sessions run about five times longer than standard calls on average, allowing counselors to assess the caller's situation fully and arrange legal, employment and welfare support as needed.

In one case, a person in their 60s suffering severe psychological anxiety due to debt and health problems received help from the CCRS, which asked financial companies to suspend collection until a debt restructuring application could be filed and also assisted the person in applying for basic livelihood benefit eligibility.

The CCRS introduced the 1375 number to its existing call center and ran a pilot from Oct. 1 through Wednesday. During that period, total call center counseling volume rose 13.9 percent compared with the same period the previous month and 13.2 percent compared with the same period last year. About 25 percent of all counseling calls came through the new 1375 number.

The CCRS is also expanding its in-person counseling network across the country. It currently provides face-to-face debt counseling at integrated financial support centers co-operated with the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency. The FSC announced in July a plan to add six centers to the 50 that existed at the time.

Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won served as a counselor for the day at the CCRS call center on Thursday, personally advising a borrower in need. Lee guided a customer who had closed a restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic and was making ends meet through day labor while facing the risk of falling into arrears, explaining that the rapid debt restructuring program is available even before a borrower misses a payment.

"What people struggling with debt need is not the despair of feeling they must face it alone, but the hope of knowing help is available," Lee said. "The FSC will actively support the stable operation of 1375 so that those burdened by debt can lay the groundwork for a fresh start."

CCRS Chairwoman Kim Eun-gyeong said the agency would "strengthen 1375's role as a comprehensive support hub for debtors — from debt restructuring to employment and welfare referrals — so that it becomes a trusted counseling channel people turn to in their most difficult moments, and put 'finance that saves lives' into practice on the ground."


snsd@heraldcorp.com