Last month, Kim Jong-sun, (fictitious name, 45) was shocked by a bill sent from a credit card company. The bill in the name of her daughter amounted to surprising 300 million won.
The card company asked Mrs. Kim to pay her daughter's debt. Kim made a complaint to the company that it recklessly issued a credit card to a student without sufficient income sources, but the credit card company didn't listen. And persistent calls from the firms made Kim disgusted.

University students take large part of the credit delinquents
Nowadays, credit card business is flourishing, more credit cards are to be put on the market this year. But increasing number of people are stigmatized as credit delinquents due to overdue credit card payments, and it is the point to see that university students take large part of the credit delinquents.
The government announced that they would take steps to solve the ever-serious problems caused by credit card companies. But the measures that the government will take against the firms lay itself open to attack. And they cannot be thorough steps since responsibility of the problems lies with not only the credit card companies but the young credit delinquents.

Credit card companies violate the card issuance regulation
Domestic credit card firms have violated the card issuance regulations by paying no regard to age or economic ability. They have issued cards to unqualified individuals without confirming identification.
Jung Jae-hong, a university student 20, said, " I was issued a credit card on a street. It was a simple procedure. I wrote my name, a resident registration number, an address and some other things on an application form. They didn't ask for an identification."
Kim Young-jun, university student 19, said "I requested a credit card on a street in my confusion. A customer solicitor pulled me by the sleeve. I filled out a simple form, took a thank-you gift."
Once the firms issued cards to students in their twenties, they pressed them and their parents to pay the debt by offensive debt collection methods.
Kim Jong-chul (fictitious name, 45) said that he was reminded to pay his son's debt. Kim explained, "I've got threatening telephone calls over and over, the firm forced me to pay my son's debt."
These are illegal acts of credit card firms since the existing law permit the issuance of a credit card only to those over 18 with sufficient income resource.

Government's plan has little effect
As more and more people are complaining about credit card companies, government said that they would launch intensive investigations into the card issuance of domestic credit card companies, imposing severe penalties on those violating issuance regulations. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced that they would patrol the streets to look out for illegal customer recruiters, also outlaw the offensive debt collection methods, such as verbal threats and violent language.
But these measures are not long-term and thorough ones but only temporary expedients. Because the existing regulation is too ambiguous to be applied, credit card firms can escape the penalty with some tricks. And also the government can't keep on the intensive control, the firms are watching for an unguarded moment.

Students are also to blame
The responsibility also rests with some students who abuse credit cards, indulging themselves in luxury without giving it much thought.
Park Tae-rim,( fictitious name, 21) who sank deeply in debt, said, " I bought some clothes and loafed around saloons with friends. I ran up five million won in no time." She couldn't ask her mother for the loan, so Park appeared as an erotic actress on the adult website. She earned 2.5 million won a month.
On January 23th, Kang, college student, 25, killed herself by taking poison. According to her sister's statement, Kang couldn't pay back her credit card debt which amounted to 15 million won. She spent the money to have fun.
Reports have it that many American students shoulder a debt to pay. Lots of them are not free from debts, some are also in debt to credit card company.
But most of them lend money for their school expenses, and keep working hard so that they can be out of the debt by themselves. It is a widely accepted view that university students are old enough to be doing things for themselves.

For a creditable society
The credit card is one of the modern conveniences. Though it causes some side effects, the rapid expansion of the credit card industry is inevitable, and even desirable for Korea society based on credit and information.
Now is the time for the card companies to shift from quantitative to qualitative growth. And the government should toughen the regulation and oversight, from issuance to billing.
But above all, students must change their points of view, acknowledging that credit cards are just discreet ways of borrowing, not of overspending. They should owe and spend money with a rational payment plan.