Hana-SK Card had the highest rate of consumer complaints of any Korean credit card company in the first half of this year, according to a news report Friday.

Shinhan Card, the nation’s No. 1 card issuer, had the largest total number of complaints.

The Yonhap News report was based on data from the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Consumer Agency and card companies.

According to the report, Hana-SK received 9.2 complaints per 100,000 consumers during the period, followed by Hyundai Card with 9.1 complaints.

Financial sources said Hana-SK’s high rate seems to be a result of its aggressive marketing to catch up with frontrunners.

Shinhan Card drew a total of 1,342 complaints during the same period, KB Kookmin ranked second in total number of complaints with 1,291 and Samsung Card was third with 1,070.

Shinhan said it had the most complaints as it had the most customers. Shinhan has occupied more than 20 percent of the credit card market since acquiring LG Card, which was No. 1 before the 2003 credit card fiasco.

Financial analysts said card firms’ reduction of their supplementary services for customers was a significant reason for complaints from customers.

By Park Min-young  (claire@heraldcorp.com)