The judgment below is reversed and the case is remanded to Seoul High Court.

The grounds of appeal are examined.

1. Article 13(1) of the former Act on Registration of Credit Business, etc. and Protection of Finance Users (amended by Act No. 11544, Dec. 11, 2012; hereinafter “Credit Business Act”) refers to “credit service providers, etc.” and “if a credit service provider, etc. falls under any of the following subparagraphs, it may order the relevant credit service provider, etc. to suspend all or part of its business for a fixed period not exceeding one year according to the standards prescribed by Presidential Decree.” Article 13(1) of the same Act provides that “where Article 9 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is violated” as one of the grounds for suspension of business.

Article 9 of the former Act on the Fair Debt Collection (amended by Act No. 12594, May 20, 2014; hereinafter “debt Collection Act”) provides that “A debt collector shall not engage in any of the following acts in connection with debt collection.” Article 1 provides that “an act of assault, threat, arrest, or detention of, or using deceptive schemes or force against, a debtor or his/her related persons,” and Article 2 subparag. 1 provides that “debt collector” refers to a credit service provider, a loan broker, or a person who actually engages in credit business without registration of credit business under the Credit Business Act and a person who actually engages in credit business, regardless of the cause of employment, contract, delegation, etc.

On the other hand, sanctions against violations of administrative laws are sanctions against the objective fact of violation of administrative laws in order to achieve administrative purposes. Thus, not necessarily a real offender, but a person prescribed as a person in charge of the law is imposed, and barring any special circumstance, they may be imposed without intention or negligence on the violator, barring any special circumstance.

(see, e.g., Supreme Court Decision 2012Du1297, May 10, 2012). Such a legal doctrine is stipulated under Article 13 of the Credit Business Act.