Lending rate cap to be lowered to 24% from next January

South Korea's maximum interest rate that private lenders can charge customers will be lowered to 24 percent per annum from January 2018, the nation's financial regulator said Sunday.

In a statement, the Financial Services Commission said it will promulgate an ordinance in October to lower the maximum legal lending rate with the change to come into force after a three-month grade period. 

(Yonhap)

The move is aimed at helping ease interest rate burdens for desperate borrowers, according to the FSC.

Currently, private lenders can charge a maximum 27.9 percent interest rate per annum by law, but the ceiling is often disregarded.

FSC officials have said the regulator will launch a crackdown against private lenders caught breaking the law. (Yonhap)