If your Korean credit card goes missing abroad — a lost wallet, a pickpocket — who pays for what a stranger charges? Article 16 of the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act says the card issuer is liable for use from the moment it receives notice of loss or theft (para. 1), and also for use before notice within a period set by Decree (para. 2). Decree Article 6-9 sets that period at 60 days before the day notice is received. But if you, for example, disclosed your PIN intentionally or with gross negligence, a written contract can make you liable. Here are the provisions as written, with a date-based checker.
1. Use after you report it: the issuer pays (Art. 16(1)).
2. Use in the 60 days before the report: the issuer pays too (Art. 16(2), Decree Art. 6-9(1)).
3. PIN disclosure or handing the card over can shift it to you under the contract — which must be written or electronic.
After the report, and 60 days before — Act Art. 16(1)–(2), Decree Art. 6-9(1)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| After notice (1) | The issuer is liable for use of the card from when it receives notice of loss or theft from a credit or debit card member | Debit cards included |
| Before notice (2) | Liable for credit card use before notice within the period the Decree sets | Says “credit card” only — no mention of debit cards |
| Period (Decree 1) | The period up to 60 days before the day notice is received | Report on 10 November: from 11 September (our sum) |
| Receipt (4) | On notice, the issuer must at once tell you who took it, a reference number and other details confirming receipt | Write the reference down (our tip) |
Taken together: from the moment you report, the issuer bears it, and use in the 60 days before is in principle the issuer’s too. Anything earlier falls outside para. 2. So the key step is reporting the moment you notice; after that time para. 1 applies straight away.
When you may bear it — Art. 16(3), (7), Decree Art. 6-9(2)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Contract (3) | If you signed a contract putting all or part of loss or theft liability on you, you bear it as the contract says | An exception to pre-notice use (para. 2) |
| Still not you (3, proviso) | Not if you were not at fault, e.g. you disclosed the PIN under irresistible force or a threat to your or a relative’s life or body | Telling a robber your PIN |
| Form (7) | Such a contract is valid only in writing or electronic form; gross negligence covers only what the contract lists | Read your terms |
| Gross negligence (Decree 2) | 1. Disclosing the PIN intentionally or with gross negligence 2. Handing over or pledging the card 3. The cases in Electronic Financial Transactions Act Art. 9 and its Decree Art. 8 | Decree Art. 8 covers lending or handing over access media, disclosing or leaving them exposed, refusing extra security steps |
Decree Art. 6-9(2)3 points to “Electronic Financial Transactions Act Art. 9(2)1”, while that Act’s Decree Art. 8 is headed as the range “under Art. 9(3)”. The numbers differ, so we give them as written (our check).
Forgery, hacking, identity theft — Art. 16(5)–(6)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Forged (5)1 | Use of a forged or altered card — the issuer is liable | Skimmed clones read as forged (our reading) |
| Stolen data (5)2 | Use of card data obtained wrongfully by hacking, system failure or insider leaks — the issuer is liable | — |
| Identity theft (5)3 | Use of a card issued in your stolen name — the issuer is liable (not if you acted with intent or gross negligence) | — |
| Exception (6) | For items 1–2, if the issuer proves your intent or gross negligence, a contract can put all or part on you | The burden of proof is on the issuer |
Checker
Updates as you type. A positive number means the misuse came before the report; “+” means after. We count the day 60 days before the report as inside the period (our reading). Only the statute is applied; your card terms and the issuer’s investigation decide the actual amount.
Disputes and penalties — Art. 16(10), Art. 70
Para. 10 says that once you dispute a charge in writing, by phone or electronically, the issuer cannot collect it until its investigation ends. If unknown foreign charges appear, disputing them along with the report is how you use this (our tip). Para. 8 makes issuers take out insurance or mutual aid cover, or set aside reserves, to meet these liabilities.
Whoever uses the card commits a crime. Art. 70(1) punishes anyone who sells or uses a lost or stolen credit or debit card (item 3), or one taken by robbery, embezzlement, deception or extortion (item 4), with up to 7 years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million won.
Three dates — our examples
| Case (our example, reported 10 November) | Result | Worth noting (our sum) |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign charge on 1 October, no fault on your side | Issuer liable (para. 2) | 40 days before — within 60 |
| Charge on 11 September | Issuer liable (para. 2) | Exactly 60 days before — counted as inside (our reading) |
| Charge on 10 September | Outside para. 2 | 61 days before |
| Charge on 12 November | Issuer liable (para. 1) | 2 days after the report — whatever your side |
| 1 October charge, PIN written on the back of the card | You may bear it under the contract | Whether it is gross negligence turns on the contract and the investigation |
Turning “up to 60 days before” into a date is our sum. Whether the boundary day counts and how a same-day report time is handled are not spelled out further; card terms and the issuer’s investigation decide.
Checklist
- ☐ Report loss or theft to the issuer the moment you notice — note the reference number
- ☐ Dispute unknown charges — no collection until the investigation ends
- ☐ Never write the PIN on the card or tell anyone
- ☐ Keep the local police report and the charge records (our tip)
- ☐ Lost your passport too? See lost passport for Korean citizens
Questions that remain
Is a debit card the same?
Para. 1 mentions notice from “credit or debit card members”, but para. 2 (60 days before notice) speaks only of “credit card use”. What happens to debit card use before notice is not settled by the provisions we read; check your terms.
What if I run out of cash?
Family in Korea can pay into a Foreign Ministry account and the mission hands you cash. See consular assistance and emergency remittance.
Do I get foreign transaction fees back?
That is separate from misuse liability. How overseas fees work is in overseas payment fees.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Specialized Credit Finance Business Act Arts. 16, 70 — source (effective 1 October 2025, Act No. 21065; checked 29 October 2026). Liability after notice, before notice (Decree period), member-liability contracts and the proviso, receipt details, forgery, stolen data and identity theft, the issuer proving gross negligence, written or electronic contracts, insurance and reserves, no collection during a dispute, penalties for using lost or stolen cards.
- Korean law database — Enforcement Decree Art. 6-9 — source (effective 6 May 2026, Decree No. 36314; checked 29 October 2026). Up to 60 days before notice; three kinds of gross negligence.
- Korean law database — Electronic Financial Transactions Act Enforcement Decree Art. 8 — source (effective 28 April 2026, Decree No. 36281). Lending or handing over access media, disclosure or exposure, refusing extra security.
- Not read. Case law, Financial Supervisory Service mediation cases, individual card terms, overseas chargeback procedures.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Your card issuer — reporting loss or theft; the gross negligence clause in your terms.
- Financial Supervisory Service — dispute mediation with the issuer.
Written on 29 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
