📞 SOMETHING ALREADY WENT WRONG
Money Problem in Korea? Here's the Real Number to Call
AMS's Korea glossary series covers how to avoid these problems before they happen. This is the companion for when it's already too late for prevention — 11 scenarios, the actual Korean government hotline for each, and what happens after you dial.
📱 Don't know which one applies? Start here.
1345 — Immigration Contact Center for Foreigners, 20 languages. Built specifically as the entry point when you don't know which Korean agency handles your issue. Save it now, before you need it.
🔬 AMS Core Frame
These are real, current government and quasi-government hotlines, not a generic “contact your embassy” list. Each one below is the specific body that actually handles that category of dispute in Korea, sourced from each agency's own published contact information rather than aggregator sites.
11 scenarios — the number, the agency, what happens next
A merchant refused your card or set a card minimum
126
National Tax Service — credit card refusal reporting
What happened — A restaurant, shop or other registered business declined your card, pushed you toward cash, or told you card payment only applies above a certain amount.
What to expect — This is illegal for VAT-registered merchants regardless of amount. Call 126 or file through the Hometax website — you can report anonymously and reporting can come with a monetary reward.
→ How to avoid this next time: Korea Dining GlossaryYou were overcharged or pressured in a tourist zone
1330
Korea Travel Hotline → connects to Tourist Police
What happened — A shop in Myeongdong, Hongdae, Gangnam or another visitor-heavy area pressured you into a purchase, gave a wildly inflated price, or you suspect you were sold counterfeit goods.
What to expect — Available 24/7 in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese. It's a one-stop line that can walk you through the situation on the spot and connect you directly to Tourist Police if needed.
→ How to avoid this next time: Korea Beauty GlossaryYou were overcharged or scammed outside a tourist zone
1372
Korea Consumer Agency — consumer counseling center
What happened — A general consumer dispute — a purchase, service or subscription that didn't match what you were promised, anywhere in Korea, not specific to visitor districts.
What to expect — Weekdays 9:00–18:00, no area code needed. They handle consumer mediation broadly, including cases that don't fit a more specific hotline below.
Your landlord won't return your jeonse or wolse deposit
1533-8119 / 1566-9009
Jeonse Damage Support Center / HUG main call center
What happened — Your lease ended, you moved out, and the deposit hasn't come back — or you suspect the property has more debt registered against it than it's worth.
What to expect — The Jeonse Damage Support Center (weekdays 10:00–17:00, lunch break 12:00–13:00) handles HUG jeonse-damage documentation specifically. For legal action, the Korean Legal Aid Corporation at 132 provides consultation, including for foreign residents.
→ How to avoid this next time: Korea Rental Contract GlossaryYou suspect phishing or an unauthorized transaction
112 + your bank, then 1332
Police, your bank's fraud line, Financial Supervisory Service
What happened — You sent money to a scammer, clicked a phishing link, or see a transaction you didn't make.
What to expect — Speed matters here more than anywhere else on this page: call your bank immediately to request a payment freeze (possible by phone in urgent cases), then report to police at 112. You'll typically need to submit a written damage report within 3 business days to keep the freeze in place. The Financial Supervisory Service (1332) also handles financial fraud consultation.
You have a dispute with a clinic over a medical or cosmetic procedure
1670-2545
Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency
What happened — A treatment didn't match what you were told, you suspect a counterfeit device or product was used, or you were billed differently than agreed.
What to expect — A national mediation body specifically for medical disputes, separate from general consumer complaints — reachable nationwide with this 8-digit number, no area code.
→ How to avoid this next time: Korea Dermatology GlossaryA delivery app or online platform won't refund you
1372
Korea Consumer Agency
What happened — An order through a delivery app, e-commerce site or booking platform went wrong and the platform is refusing or delaying a refund.
What to expect — File with the platform first and keep the record, then escalate to 1372 if unresolved — the Consumer Agency handles e-commerce and platform disputes as part of its general consumer mediation role.
Your employer hasn't paid your wages
1350
Ministry of Employment and Labor
What happened — Unpaid wages, wages paid late, or you believe you were dismissed unfairly — this applies to foreign workers as well as Korean nationals.
What to expect — This is the specialist channel for labor disputes specifically — it can also connect you to language support rather than requiring you to navigate it entirely in Korean.
You have a dispute with your phone carrier or an ISP
142-246
Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Committee
What happened — A contract term, cancellation fee, or billing dispute with your mobile carrier or internet provider that the company itself won't resolve.
What to expect — A toll-free, receiver-paid number for formal dispute mediation between you and the telecom provider — for hacking, spam or personal-data-breach concerns specifically, call 118 instead.
→ How to avoid this next time: Korea Banking GlossaryYou genuinely don't know who to call
1345
Immigration Contact Center for Foreigners
What happened — Any of the above, or something that doesn't fit a category — you just need a human who can point you in the right direction.
What to expect — Support in 20 languages, specifically built as an entry point for foreign residents navigating Korean bureaucracy. A related option, the Danuri Call Center (1577-1366), offers support in 13 languages and can also help route you.
Checklist — before you dial
1
Save 1345 (20-language foreigner hotline) in your phone before you need it — it's the fallback when you don't know which agency applies
2
For anything involving a bank transfer gone wrong, call your bank before you call anyone else — the freeze window is measured in hours, not days
3
Keep receipts, screenshots and timestamps for every dispute — every agency on this page asks for evidence before it can act
4
File with the business or platform directly first where possible — most hotlines ask if you've already tried, and it builds your evidence trail
Frequently asked
Which number should I call if I genuinely don't know what kind of problem I have?
1345, the Immigration Contact Center for Foreigners — it offers support in 20 languages and exists specifically as an entry point for foreign residents who don't know which specific Korean agency handles their issue. The Danuri Call Center (1577-1366, 13 languages) is a similar fallback option.
Are these hotlines actually free, and do they really support English?
Yes to both for the numbers listed here — 1330 (tourism), 1345 (immigration) and 1577-1366 (Danuri) are specifically built with multilingual support as their core function, not an afterthought. The others (126, 1372, 132, 1350, 1332, 118) are primarily Korean-language government lines, though many can connect you to interpretation — if language is a barrier, starting with 1345 to get routed correctly is often faster than guessing.
What's the single most time-sensitive scenario on this page?
Phishing or an unauthorized bank transaction. Call your bank immediately to request a payment freeze — this is often possible by phone even before you can file paperwork — then report to police at 112. The freeze only holds if you follow up with a written report (typically within 3 business days), so speed at the first step matters more here than for any other scenario on this page.
Do these hotlines apply if I'm only visiting Korea, not living here?
Most of them, yes — 1330 (tourism), 1372 (consumer), 126 (card refusal), 112 (police) and 1332 (financial fraud) all apply regardless of your visa status or length of stay. A few, like 1350 (labor) and the jeonse-specific lines, assume you have an employment or lease relationship in Korea, which a short-term visitor typically won't.
AMS's prevention series
Korea Healthcare Glossary
Mandatory NHI, the minimum premium you can contest, and the 90% ER copay →
Korea Dermatology Glossary
Ulthera, Thermage, Rejuran — price ranges and how to verify genuine →
Korea Beauty Glossary
Toner to cushion, decoded, plus Myeongdong shopping risks →
K-pop Fandom Glossary
Deokjil, jogong, photocards — and the money behind them →
Korea Rental Contract Glossary
Jeonse, hwakjeongilja — the sequence that actually protects your deposit →
Korea Dining Glossary
In-bun, service charge, and why card refusal is illegal →
Korea Banking Glossary
Account opening, certificates, and exchange rate fee math →
Primary sources
↗ Korea Tourism Organization — 1330 Korea Travel Hotline: 24/7, 4-language tourism support and complaint routing↗ Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) — 1372 Consumer Counseling Center hours and access↗ HUG (Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation) — Jeonse Damage Support Center hours and jeonse-fraud documentation process↗ Korean Legal Aid Corporation — 132 phone consultation, nationwide, including from overseas↗ Financial Supervisory Service — 1332 financial consumer protection and fraud consultation↗ Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency — 1670-2545 nationwide medical dispute counseling↗ Ministry of Employment and Labor — 1350 customer counseling center↗ Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Committee — 142-246 toll-free dispute mediation↗ Lacha Korea Guide — Where foreign residents can get help with labor and residency issues, including 1345 and Danuri Call Center