Seoul: An interagency task force dedicated to combating illegal private lending has announced plans to intensify its efforts against lending disguised as gift certificate transactions.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the government is broadening its crackdown on high-interest loan businesses, prompting loan sharks to increasingly utilize gift certificate trades. In this scheme, borrowers enter into contracts to receive cash from lenders with the condition of returning gift certificates with a value significantly exceeding the borrowed sum.

Recently, a tragic incident occurred involving a woman in her 30s who was found dead in an apparent suicide. She had reportedly been under severe pressure from a private lender after borrowing money through such a gift certificate transaction. The authorities have since prohibited the lender from leaving the country as investigations continue.

During the task force meeting on Thursday, Government Policy Coordination Minister Yoon Chang-yul led discussions and resolved to regulate these gift certificate transactions under loan business laws. The meeting also concluded that victims of these schemes would receive the same support as those affected by traditional loan sharks.

The government has also committed to expanding its investigations into websites that act as intermediaries for these illicit transactions. Minister Yoon emphasized the government's commitment to thoroughly cracking down on emerging illegal lending types and offering necessary support to victims.