[Digital Today reporter Ji-young Lee] Woori Bank has launched a non-face-to-face real estate-backed loan for sole proprietors that can be applied for without visiting a branch.

Woori Bank said on Oct. 1 it expanded the non-face-to-face coverage of its flagship product for sole proprietors, the Woori Sajangnim Loan, from unsecured credit loans to real estate-backed loans.

The new product can be applied for through the WooriWON Banking Business app, with a loan limit of up to 1 billion won. It is available to sole proprietors who provide individually owned or jointly owned property as collateral and meet Woori Bank's credit assessment standards.

Eligible collateral includes apartments, row houses and multi-family homes, and officetels, as well as retail properties and neighborhood commercial properties. A feature is that it expanded the scope so that retail properties and neighborhood commercial properties, for which it is relatively difficult to confirm market prices, can also be applied for through non-face-to-face lending.

Applications can be submitted up to 15 business days before the desired loan disbursement date. Borrowers can choose either a bullet repayment at maturity or installment repayment of principal. After an application is submitted, a dedicated department handles document checks, collateral review and on-site inspections of the business premises.

If there is no registration identification information, only registration-related tasks are handled at a branch and the remaining procedures can be completed non-face-to-face.

Park Jun-seok (박준석), head of Woori Bank's SOHO business division, said, "We expanded non-face-to-face financial services," adding, "We will continue to improve financial services for sole proprietors."