How to file a complaint (Shinhan Bank)

Last update : 21st Dec 2021

Before you get started

• You should write it in clear Korean language. If you use English, the bank could reject your complaint or take the processing time longer.
• You don't need to sign up for their internet banking to submit a complaint online.
• Make sure your documents and proofs are ready. If you want to report or endorse a branch or an employee, you need to write the branch and the employee's name.
• Generally, You'll get a response from the bank within 14 working days.
• Most of the banks will limit the number of letters (1000 ~ 10000 characters).
• DO NOT ABUSE THIS SYSTEM. Extremely continuous improper complaints may result in criminal punishment for 업무방해(Obstruction of business).

Am I OK to submit a complaint?

The banks in Korea could work differently from your home country and you might get confused about what kind of cases are normal or not while you're banking with them so I wrote some cases.

You can file a complaint if ...

• You've experienced racial discrimination or defamation from their employee.
• The financial institution or their call centre gave you wrong information and because of it, you've paid an unnecessary fee or got a financial loss.
• Unnecessary or undocumented banking fee is charged.
• The bank seized your account or registered your name to the credit bureau even though you don't have any overdue debt.
• The employee accessed into your account without your permission. (Except in case of an investigation by the authorities. If so, they'll inform you.)
• The employee abused your personal information.
• The employee let other people(including your family and friends) know your financial situation. (If your financial institution let your family or other people know that you're having a debt, that's the case you can report.)
• The bank doesn't give you a reward of a promotional offer even though you're qualified. (In this case, I suggest you contact them and inquire first.)
• The bank's system has a serious error that blocks your transaction.
• OR etc.

The followings cases are normal and the bank won't likely take your complaint and sort them out.

• The bank didn't let you increase the transfer limit of your account. → The FSS ordered the banks to tighten to rule of it. They can judge if you're qualified for raising the limit or not. And even if you seem to be qualified, if their employee feels suspicious, they can refuse it.
• Your account is seized or suspended after letting other people (including your family and friends) use your debit card or bank account. → This is a serious crime and against the anti-money laundry policy. According to the Article 6 of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act(전자금융거래법), all users must not provide a means of access (to your account of money) in any case, because the borrower is capable of committing financial fraud. In this case, the bank won't set your account free until you pay the victims of the fraud in losses.
• I applied for a credit card or loan but they declined my application.→ Every institution has made its own criteria for their credit product applications. You have to fulfil those requirements of course, or you can try another institution.
• I opened a savings account last month and I applied for a loan today but the bank rejected my loan application because of the savings account opened recently. → It's because some bank tellers used to ask their customer for signing up financial products, before(or after) they take the loan applications so that they can record better sales performance. So the govt banned signing up or applying for those financial products in a short period(1 month). In this case, you can apply for a loan in another bank.

How to submit a complaint online

1. Go to shinhan.com. Then, you'll find a link '전자민원' on the footer of the webpage. Click the link.
2. Click the link if you want to inquire, endorse, or report an employee. Otherwise, agree to the privacy policy then click '확인'.
3. Fill the form then click '확인' to submit. There will be a confirmation page after this.
4. If you chose '칭찬/불만' on the previous page, the page will look a bit different. Agree to the privacy policy then click '확인'.
5. Fill the form then click '확인' to submit. There will be a confirmation page after this.

Not satisfied with their response?

If you think they didn't care about your problem properly, you can submit a complaint to the Financial Supervisory Service(금융감독원). They're operating their English call centre. Dial 1339 then press 8.