Financial crimes in South Korea fell 3.4 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, the authorities said Tuesday as they vowed to boost efforts to prevent crimes at banks and other financial institutions.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said a total of 141 cases of financial crimes, such as loan scams and embezzlement, occurred in 2019, down from 146 in 2018.

Financial crimes were liable for damages worth 310.8 billion won ($252 million) last year, a sharp hike from 129.6 billion won in 2018, according to the data.

The FSS said it will encourage banks and other financial institutions to strengthen their internal control systems to prevent scams that use forged documents in loans and investments. (Yonhap)