Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday pledged to address what he called predatory financial practices burdening low-income debtors, referring to cases of defaulters excluded from a government debt cancellation program. The president made the remarks on his X account, posting a link to a news article highlighting cases of defaulters struggling with snowballing debts due to crushingly high interest rates.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the article detailed that a privately run bad bank, which had taken over the debts of these defaulters, did not participate in the Lee administration's debt cancellation program intended for low-income borrowers. This left its debtors ineligible for benefits, while the bank reportedly pocketed huge profits.

"I did not know this primitive, predatory financing has survived to this day to strangle ordinary people," Lee said. He questioned the lack of discovery of this issue by the authorities, emphasizing the need for swift action to rectify the situation.

President Lee also pointed out the "limits" within companies' profit-seeking activities and underlined the importance of coexistence, suggesting a balanced approach between profitability and social responsibility.