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Large Korean banks have started to report their earnings in the first half of this year, and they seem to have made the most profits ever.

The chairman of the Financial Services Commission met with the presidents of the banks and told them to spend some of the money they earned on the underprivileged.



This is reporter Kim Tae-woo.



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Loans to households in their 40s and 50s, the waist of our economy, have exceeded KRW 1,000 trillion.



Three out of ten people are multi-debtor who borrowed money from three or more financial institutions, and the burden of raising interest rates is greater.



[Mr. Lee / Multiple debtors: 2 credit loans, 1 mortgage loan.

If the base rate is raised again due to the base rate hike, the monthly rent will continue to rise because the monthly interest rate continues to rise.]



On the other hand, financial institutions are in a situation where they have to manage their facial expressions.



KB Financial Group, the first major bank to announce its earnings, announced that it posted a record-high 2.7 trillion won in net profit in the first half of the year.



Profits from interest increased by nearly 19% compared to last year, which means that interest rates have risen significantly.



When all four major financial holding companies are combined, it is estimated that they earned 9 trillion won in the first half of this year.



Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Joo-Hyun Kim, met with the chairman of the financial holding company and repeatedly asked for sharing of pain.



[Kim Joo-hyun/Chairman of Financial Services: I think that the roles of the chairman of the financial holding company here are very important.]



Woori Bank responded immediately.



If the low-credit multiple debtor faithfully repays the debt, he promised to reduce the principal as much as the interest paid in excess of 6%.



Other banks have also promised to take action in the future.



[Sewoon Hwang/Senior Research Fellow, Capital Market Research Institute: Because of the record-breaking performance, the soundness of financial companies is also secured by preparing in advance the financial resources for the risk potential of vulnerable borrowers and the possibility of bankruptcy…

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It remains to be seen whether the banks that have been criticized for 'selling interest' by taking measures to reduce exemptions while watching the authorities and public opinion will change this time.



(Video coverage: Park Young-il, Video editing: Park Chun-bae, VJ: Park Hyeon-woo)