Lending or Selling a Bank Account or Debit Card in Korea Can Mean Up to 5 Years in Prison: Penalties, Banking and Visa Risks for International Students, and What to Do If Your Account Is Frozen

“I’ll pay you just to borrow your bank account.” Accepting an offer like that can turn into a crime the moment you say yes. Handing over your debit card, password or certificate to someone else, or lending them out for money, is punishable under Article 49(4) of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act by up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to about $22,400 (KRW 30 million). Criminal punishment is not the only consequence. If the account is used for fraud, payments from the entire balance of that account are suspended, and non-face-to-face transactions such as internet and mobile banking and ATMs may be blocked. A criminal record can also affect visa screening after graduation for job-seeking (D-10) or residence (F-2) status.

Based on laws in force as of November 8, 2026, this article lays out the prohibited acts and penalties, the banking and immigration consequences, and what to do if your account is suddenly frozen. Amounts are given in US dollars first, with Korean won in parentheses (Hana Bank base exchange rate on November 3, 2026: $1 = KRW 1,341.10).

What ‘lending your bank account’ actually hands over

The law uses the term ‘access media’ rather than ‘bankbook.’ Article 2, item 10 of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act defines access media as follows.

• Electronic cards such as debit cards and cash cards
• Certificates, including joint certificates
• User numbers (IDs, etc.) registered with financial companies such as banks, or with electronic financial business operators that provide remittance and payment services
• Biometric information such as fingerprints and faces
• Passwords needed to use cards or certificates

What is commonly called ‘account lending’ means letting someone else use these tools. You are not safe just because you did not hand over a paper bankbook. Giving someone your debit card together with its password, or letting them log in to your mobile banking app, raises the same problem.

Article 6(3) prohibits five acts.

1. Transferring access media to another person (transfer) or receiving them
2. Lending or borrowing them while receiving, demanding or agreeing to receive money
3. Lending or borrowing them knowing they will be used for crime
4. Pledging access media as collateral (a pledge)
5. Arranging, brokering or advertising any of these acts

Transferring is prohibited regardless of whether money was received. Lending is prohibited if you received payment or merely agreed to receive it.

Penalties: up to 5 years in prison or a fine of about $22,400 (KRW 30 million)

The penalty is “imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine not exceeding KRW 30 million” (Article 49(4)). It applies to anyone who transferred or received access media, and anyone who lent or borrowed them for payment. It also covers people who agreed to receive payment, or knew the cards would be used for crime, and kept someone else’s card or delivered or circulated it. Prison and a fine can also be imposed together (Article 49(8)).

The penalty was raised in 2020. Before that, the caps were 3 years in prison and a fine of about $14,900 (KRW 20 million). When an amended law promulgated in May 2020 took effect on August 20, the caps rose to the current 5 years in prison and about $22,400 (KRW 30 million). At the same time, providing, keeping, delivering or circulating account information such as account numbers while knowing it would be used for crime also became punishable. The penalty has not changed since 2020.

The penalty in the statute is the legal maximum. Actual sentences vary from case to case. The consequences, however, may not end with this provision. In a 2022 notice, the government said people who sold their accounts could also be punished for fraud or aiding fraud, depending on whether they knew the accounts would be used for voice phishing.

Financial penalties beyond criminal punishment

If a lent account is used for voice phishing or other telecommunications financial fraud, the Special Act on the Prevention of Telecommunications Financial Fraud and Refund of Victims’ Assets (the Telecom Fraud Refund Act for short) applies. The law took its current name on October 1, 2026. Its previous name was the Special Act on the Prevention of Telecommunications Financial Fraud and Refund of Damages.

Entire account frozen. When a request for damage relief or a similar filing is made and there are grounds to suspect the account was used for fraud, the bank must immediately suspend payments from the entire account (Article 4). It does not block only the portion where the fraud money came in. Even if the account holds your living expenses and tuition, you will not be able to withdraw money.

Restrictions on electronic financial transactions. If the holder of a suspended account meets requirements set by law, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) designates that person as a ‘person restricted from electronic financial transactions’ (Article 13-2). Once a person is designated, banks cannot process that person’s electronic financial transactions. Put simply, apart from transactions handled by staff at a bank counter, the person cannot use automated transactions such as internet and mobile banking or ATMs. Those subject to designation are people who transferred or lent access media in connection with fraud, people who handed over account information, and others punished for crimes committed for fraudulent purposes. All of them must have been sentenced, and the designation applies if fewer than 3 years have passed since the sentencing date for a fine, or fewer than 5 years for imprisonment (including suspended sentences).

Restrictions an objection cannot lift. An account holder whose account was wrongly suspended can have the suspension lifted by filing an objection. But if you were punished for handing over or lending a bankbook, card or account information in connection with fraud, and the 3- or 5-year period above has not passed, the restriction on electronic financial transactions does not end even if you file an objection (Article 8).

Refusal to open accounts. Since August 2024, banks must verify the purpose of financial transactions when opening an account (Article 2-6). If the purpose is linked to fraud or the customer refuses to provide information, the bank can refuse to open the account or close existing accounts. This is one reason banks question international students closely about the purpose of an account and their documents when they open one.

The government also warned in 2016 and 2022 that people who handed over their accounts could be turned down for new accounts, insurance and loans for a long time. However, the current standards setting that period have not been confirmed in official materials.

How could it affect your visa?

A foreign national who was sentenced to imprisonment without labor or a heavier punishment and then released may be subject to deportation (Immigration Act, Article 46(1)13). The provision says ‘may,’ so deportation is not automatic in every case.

A fine can also affect your path after graduation. The residence standards (Ministry of Justice residence services manual, November 2, 2026 edition) are as follows.

• Change to job-seeking (D-10) status. Applicants who received a sentence of imprisonment without labor or heavier within 5 years before the application date, or a fine of about $2,240 (KRW 3 million) or more within 3 years, are subject to restrictions.
• Change to points-based residence (F-2-7) status. If fewer than 3 years have passed since a fine of about $2,240 (KRW 3 million) or more, or a heavier sentence (including a suspended sentence), became final, the change is not permitted. If 3 years have passed, 40 points are deducted. Smaller fines also lead to deductions regardless of when they became final.

In the restriction standards for other statuses such as overseas Korean (F-4), voice phishing is classified separately as a ‘serious social crime’ alongside drugs and habitual drunk driving. It is a sign that voice phishing–related crimes weigh heavily in immigration screening. Incheon Metropolitan City, announcing financial education for foreign residents in March 2026, also warned that a criminal record could count against people seeking visa extensions.

The manual does not specifically say how a fine is taken into account when extending student (D-2) status. That does not mean it has no effect. If you have been punished ahead of an extension, it is best to consult your university’s international student office first.

Why international students’ accounts are targeted

International students’ accounts have been a target for fraud rings. According to Financial Supervisory Service data cited by Incheon city, international students’ accounts reported as fraud-used accounts numbered 141 in 2020, 515 in 2021 and 1,267 in 2022, roughly a ninefold increase in two years.

Incheon also warned that sending money to an illegal currency exchanger could lead to voice phishing funds flowing into that account and to restrictions on financial transactions. It is safest to avoid exchanging and sending money through individuals rather than banks.

In March 2026, the Financial Services Commission said it would create rules for financial companies to jointly detect ‘burner’ accounts. It also said it was pushing to halt transactions on accounts flagged by police as suspected of fraud until financial companies verify the customer. A provision giving financial companies the legal basis to share information on suspicious accounts with one another has been in effect since August 4, 2026.

If your account is suddenly frozen

An account can be frozen even if you never lent it. A typical case is ‘account extortion,’ in which unknown money is deposited and you are then contacted with a threat: “Return the money or I’ll report you.” In that case, do not send money to the person who contacted you or comply with their demands. Respond in the following order.

1. Report to 112. Since September 2023, voice phishing reports have been unified into the 112 phone line and the online ‘Voice Phishing Protection’ website. A single 112 report handles case registration, blocking of malicious apps and damage relief such as payment suspension all at once.
2. File an objection with your bank. Objections are filed with financial companies such as banks (Article 7). You must show that the account was not used for fraud, or that you received the money for a legitimate reason, such as payment for goods. If you knew the account was being used for fraud, or did not know because of gross negligence, it is not recognized as a legitimate entitlement.
3. Gather objective evidence. You need materials showing you had no intention of taking the victim’s money, such as threatening messages, deposit records and messages exchanged with the other party to the transaction. Since August 2024, account extortion victims who submit such materials can quickly have the suspension lifted for the portion unrelated to the damage money.
4. Meet the deadline. An objection must be filed within 2 months of the date of the public notice opening the procedure for extinguishment of claims. The bank asks the Financial Supervisory Service to issue this notice without delay after the suspension (Article 5). Once the period passes, the account holder’s claim to the amount in the notice is extinguished (Article 9).

In principle, a suspension is not lifted until 2 months have passed from the date the victim is notified of the objection (Article 8). Your living-expense account may be tied up for some time, so start an objection as soon as you learn of the freeze.

Checklist if you receive an offer

• Do not hand over your debit card, password, certificate or internet banking ID, even to family or friends.
• Turn down part-time jobs pitched as “We’ll pay you just to lend us your account” or “We’ll give you a commission for moving money that’s deposited.”
• Do not sell your account or card to someone else, or leave it with them, when you return home. It is recommended that you personally close any accounts you will no longer use.
• Exchange currency and send money abroad through banks or licensed remittance companies.
• If unknown money comes in, do not touch it; notify your bank and 112 first.
• If you have already handed over your card, tell your bank right away to stop use of the card and account, and consult the staff in charge at your university.

The steps for opening an account for the first time and the transaction limits are covered in Opening a bank account as an international student: process and limits. For disciplinary standards on part-time work, see Tougher penalties for illegal part-time work by international students; for life after graduation, see Guide to the D-10-1 job-seeking visa after graduation and D-2 and D-4 visa extensions.

--- Penalty, payment suspension and objection standards are based on the current provisions of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act and the Telecom Fraud Refund Act (in effect since October 2, 2026); residence standards on Article 46 of the Immigration Act and the Ministry of Justice residence services manual (November 2, 2026 edition); and reporting channels on the Financial Services Commission announcement (September 26, 2023).