I've discovered a blog truly worthy of its name – the "Seoul Buffoon." In response to an article that was pretty informative and an example of good journalism doing what it's supposed to do, which is to expose misdoings and inform the populace for the sake of the public good, the writer of the Seoul Buffoon, hereafter known as merely "the buffoon" writes:
All over the world, every bank is free to decide whom they give credit cards to based on their risk assessments. So naturally different banks will have different approaches to a request for a card from an expat. While one bank may feel an individual is a credit-risk, another may not. It happens everywhere. The reason why the bank officials would have mentioned some non-existing rule, is to get the expat off their backs.
Did he even read the article in question? The reason cited (and cited to me as well, when I myself tried to open a new account at KEB and they cited that non-existent law) was that the systems weren't able to track the transactions made on one's account in terms of the $10,000 limit per visit on withdrawals. My reaction? So hook up the system! Don't cheap out and simply deny me access to my hard-earned cash overseas, especially since withdrawing one's cash while overseas just MIGHT be more important who travel more often OVERSEAS.
It wasn't that foreigners were on anyone's "back", since the ability to withdraw money overseas from nearly any ATM was a strong point of the Korean banking system for YEARS, and it's perfectly reasonable to expect that if a major policy change is made (as in "you can't withdraw your money anymore) that you might get a notice beforehand.
KEB, for example, sends an email to each customer before any major holiday that involves curtailed online banking hours or access, as when I went to the US for a visit but wasn't able to access my money. After a call placed to KEB in Chicago, they informed me that there was system maintenance over the Korean national holiday, and upon a closer look at my email, I'd gotten a notice in the mail. Still, they apologized profusely, since any break in access to one's money overseas was taken seriously enough to warn every single one of their customers beforehand through email, and is a break in access that is very, very rare.
It's understood to be a given that one has access to one's funds overseas, and is a major reason you're given TWO types of cards when you open a bank account in Korea: one for domestic, one specifically designed for international use.
So suddenly having your international card not work, with no warning, and having utilized that service without any reason to expect an interruption for up to a decade, in my case, would be a serious inconvenience.
And I only found out about the law because I was opening a new account. Had I made an international trip at that time, it's very possible that I would have experienced the same shock that the interviewee in the story, who was suddenly cut off from her money while overseas had. Here's the response from "the buffoon":
Being a journalist she should have known better and inquired with the concerned bank before embarking an overseas trip. Different banks have different policies and one cannot say a country is “backward” based on this stupid experience. The lady may be backward for not doing enough due-diligence before subscribing to a card.
She should also have no issue with the $10,000 limit. She should have known better. Korea has the forex limit for reasons that are no secret. By the way, someone who wants to withdraw over $10,000 on an overseas trip should have taken the precaution and inquired first.
Yes, we all inquire before making basic transactions that one has been making for years, with no reason to expect that said access or services would be changed, right? I wonder if the "buffoon" calls all his banks and double-confirms everything before every trip overseas he makes. If he does, it might go something like this:
OPERATOR (cheerily): Visa customer service. How may I be of assistance today?
BUFFOON: Yes. I'd like to know if my Visa is still working overseas.
OPERATOR: Why, yes, sir. It most certainly should. The Visa card is recognized in major countries all across the world. It's everywhere you want to be, as we like to say. (chuckles cheerily)
BUFFOON: But can you specifically check if it will work in a major city such as Tokyo? I'm going there next week.
OPERATOR: It most certainly should, in any place that displays a "VISA" symbol, sir.
BUFFOON: But I want to make sure.
OPERATOR: Is there a specific point-of-sale location that you'd like me to check, sir?
BUFFOON: Umm, no. I just want to make sure it works in Japan.
OPERATOR (a bit confused): Umm...yes, sir. I'll check to make sure your card works...in all of Japan.
Rinse and repeat...3-5 times, for each card in most of our wallets. I guess the "Seoul Buffoon" has a lot of time on his hands than the rest of us, since I don't have time to go double-checking every service I've regularly used for years: I wonder if my phone will continue to work next month? Or my domestic ATM service? Or my electricity? Will I still be able to use my driver's license? And man, I sure hope my discount card at TGI Friday's is still valid.
Some people must have a lot of time on their hands.
The JoongAng article was good, and it gave me and others an important piece of information – the reason cited by the bank (this non-existent "new law") is not the reason for the change in policy. Basically, the banks are just too lazy to hook up their ATM transactions system to the tracking system for overseas transactions for foreigners. Which is something I suspected from the git-go, that someone was just being lazy somewhere. But I never thought that the "new law" line itself was a crock of shit.
And it's always a good sign when an organization wants to sue a newspaper for simply reporting the naked truth, and exposing that they were lying. Means somebody's doing their job.
If the "Seoul Buffoon" – one of the most apropos titles for a blog I've read in a loooong time, by the way – had actually read the article he criticizes, and understood the Korean banking system from direct experience, he'd understand just what kind of good article this was, instead of displaying just how poor his basic reading comprehension skills seem to be.
Oh, and by the way, "Buffoon," enjoy the brief burst in traffic you'll get from this; I'll let the poetry of your own prose speak for how much of a "Buffoon" you may or may not be. Here's another piece of link love to make sure.