Interest-Rate Reduction Requests Jumped 77% -- But the Approval Rate Fell to 19% -- What MyData Auto-Filing Changed
Korea's interest-rate reduction request -- the right to ask your bank to lower your loan rate -- just had its first-half performance figures published. Requests in the first half of 2026 jumped 77% year over year, yet the share actually approved fell by 8.5 percentage points. Here's why filing got easier while approval got harder, and what to prepare if you want better odds of getting through.
2.679 million requests, approval rate down to 19.1%
According to Korea Federation of Banks disclosures, interest-rate reduction requests in the first half of 2026 totaled 2.679 million, up 77.0% from 1.513 million in the second half of last year. Over the same period, the approval rate fell from 27.6% to 19.1%, an 8.5-percentage-point drop. Household loan requests rose from 1.406 million to 2.567 million, and approvals rose from 382,000 to 480,000 -- but because the request volume grew so much faster than approvals, the rate itself fell. Total interest savings from approved requests came to 73.43 billion won.
Why requests surged -- MyData auto-filing
Behind the surge in requests is the MyData-based interest-rate reduction auto-filing service, launched on February 26, 2026. Once a consumer gives one-time consent to a MyData operator, that operator periodically files rate-reduction requests to financial institutions on the consumer's behalf. At launch, 13 MyData operators and 57 financial companies participated, with plans to expand across banking, savings banks, insurance, mutual finance, cards, and capital in stages. One reason approval rates fell is that automation pulled in requests from people who, under the old manual process, likely wouldn't have bothered filing at all.
Who can actually file -- credit standing has to improve
This right isn't available on demand -- it applies only when your credit standing has genuinely improved. Typical grounds include a jump in income from a new job, a promotion, or a job change; an increase in assets such as buying property; earning a professional qualification; or a rise in your credit score. If you're filing based on employment changes, the standard is income growth from employment, a job change, or promotion within the last six months, and you'll need to submit proof such as an employment certificate or health-insurance eligibility confirmation showing the income increase.
How the review actually works
Financial institutions must notify applicants of the household-loan rate-reduction review result within 10 business days of receiving the request and required documents. The review weighs credit transaction history, delinquency amount and duration, and income and financial-asset data -- but what matters most is whether the lender's own internal credit grade for that borrower has genuinely improved. Auto-filing through MyData doesn't lower that internal bar, which is exactly why the gap between filing volume and approval rate opened up.
Why auto-filing dragged the approval rate down
MyData auto-filing handles the act of filing, but it doesn't judge whether your credit standing has actually improved enough to qualify. In the past, mostly people who'd calculated a meaningful improvement bothered to file. Now, requests get auto-submitted even when the improvement is marginal or the borrower doesn't yet meet the bar, which is read as a key reason the approval rate fell relative to total requests. Debt-adjustment programs for borrowers already delinquent work on the opposite premise -- rate reduction requests exist for borrowers whose repayment ability has gotten stronger, not weaker.
Rejected once? You can file again
A rejection on a given loan doesn't bar you from filing again later. If your credit standing has improved further since the last request, you can reapply. Rather than resubmitting the same paperwork repeatedly, it's more efficient to track your credit score through a credit-monitoring app or your bank's app first, and file again once the improvement is meaningful. Unlike debt-adjustment programs, which run on fixed filing windows and procedures, an interest-rate reduction request can be filed as many times as you meet the criteria.
MyData auto-filing isn't the finish line
Consenting to MyData auto-filing is convenient, but you still need to check the review outcome yourself. Because auto-filing runs on a recurring cycle, if you keep getting rejected, it's worth checking whether your income and asset records are actually being refreshed, or asking your MyData operator whether the filing interval itself can be adjusted. As with add-on riders on an auto insurance policy that people sign up for and then forget about, automating the request doesn't automate checking the result.
Order of operations
1) Identify which of income, assets, qualifications, or credit score has actually improved recently. 2) Decide whether to rely on MyData auto-filing consent or file directly through your bank's app or branch. 3) Prepare supporting documents, such as an employment certificate, backing up the improvement. 4) Confirm the review result within 10 business days of submission. 5) If rejected, wait until the improvement is more substantial before reapplying. Your exact approval odds and procedure will vary by lender, so confirm directly with the financial institution you're dealing with.
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