{"id":777049216,"date":"2026-10-30T09:44:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T12:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777049216"},"modified":"2026-10-30T09:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T12:45:07","slug":"south-korea-youth-online-gambling-banks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/south-korea-youth-online-gambling-banks","title":{"rendered":"South Korea targets youth gambling through bank transfers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
KakaoBank and Toss Bank will use police intelligence to flag suspicious accounts, block certain transfers and connect at-risk teenagers with counselling services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Key takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n South Korea.-\u00a0 The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has signed a Memorandum of Understanding <\/strong>(MOU) with digital banks KakaoBank Corp and Toss Bankto aimed at preventing online gambling among teenagers through real-time financial transaction intervention. Signed on October 29, the agreement comes ahead of the roll out of the Youth Digital Safety System<\/strong> on November 2. Under the mechanism, police will notify the banks about verified accounts suspected of being tied to illegal gambling, allowing the platforms to intervene before minors complete monetary transfers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The intervention model uses internal Fraud Detection Systems<\/strong> (FDS) integrated with police intelligence. Toss Bank will display high-risk warnings when a young user attempts to send money to a flagged account. If a user under 17 proceeds despite the alert, the app will send a text notification to their guardian. KakaoBank will block underage transfers to corporate accounts identified as suspicious through its verification protocols. If a flagged account belongs to an account holder at either bank, the holder may be required to verify the origin and purpose of their funds before deposits and withdrawals are suspended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The banking apps will also incorporate direct access to counselling services. Every pop-up warning will feature a button routing users to the 117 counselling hotline, connecting at-risk youth with School Police Officers (SPOs) and specialised entities such as the Korea Centre on Gambling Problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commenting on the initiative, Yun Ho-young<\/strong>, CEO of KakaoBank, stated: \u201cSince online gambling among teenagers can lead directly to financial harm and crime, early prevention and appropriate support are important.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lee Eun-mi<\/strong>, CEO of Toss Bank, said: \u201cSince 2.03 million underage customers use Toss Bank for their financial needs, we will approach the task of protecting young people from the dangers of gambling with a strong sense of responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n