"100% Rent Increase During COVID-19 Period"... Self-Employed Cry Over Building Owners' 'Gapjil' Abuse

Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic downturn, tenants are suffering even more due to the abusive behavior of building owners, and they continue to voice their grievances daily.

On the 21st, a petition titled "Please stop the rent abuse by *** Mr., the largest shareholder of ****** and former professional basketball coach" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board.

The petitioner, Mr. A, who stated that he rents a building owned by a former professional basketball coach to run a basketball school, said, "Since opening our basketball school in January 2019, we have done our best to guide and manage the children so they can enjoy basketball," adding, "However, we have reached a point where we can no longer tolerate the illegal actions of the building owner and management team of the three-story building, which we have operated as a direct store and franchise."

According to Mr. A, the building owner of the gym notified them to pay 13 million won per month, doubling the previous rent of 7 million won. Mr. A and fellow instructors requested meetings dozens of times and asked for the withdrawal of the excessive rent, but the building owner consistently ignored them.

Mr. A stated, "During these difficult times due to COVID-19, when many landlords are participating in the 'Good Landlord Movement' by offering rent deferrals and reductions, this greedy landlord and former professional basketball coach is demanding a 100% increase and threatening us to leave," and claimed, "They are committing these acts to intimidate us, who are well aware of internal matters, to prevent crimes such as breach of trust, embezzlement, and tax evasion from being exposed."

He added, "All of this is true. I hope the prosecution or police will investigate. We are destined to be evicted after this month, so please help us."

▲ "Blocked parking lot repairs for over a year, broken elevator not fixed"... Tenant complains of building owner's 'abuse'

Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, on the same day (the 3rd), another petition titled "I am suffering from the building owner's abuse" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board.

The petitioner, Mr. B, who runs a small business in Dongtan, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, said, "The suffering began when the building owner changed and the new owner took over," explaining, "While the new owner was renovating the motel above our store to operate it personally, water kept leaking from the ceiling. It reached a point where we had to catch the water in several containers, which interfered with our business. When we raised this issue, the owner said he was not at fault."

He continued, "Under the pretext of repairing the parking lot, it has been blocked for over a year, preventing tenants and customers from using it," adding, "They collected inspection and repair fees but did not allow us to use the parking lot."

He also said, "Our store is on the 4th floor, but both elevators are broken and locked, and no action has been taken. Even when I offered to pay for repairs myself, they would not allow it," adding, "The elevator company said they cannot repair it without the building owner's permission."

Furthermore, Mr. B raised his voice about the building owner interfering with employee hiring. He said, "A business owner who had operated on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the same building closed their business and, being resourceful, asked for help to hire staff. However, the building owner threatened that they could not work at our store," and lamented, "Because of this, that owner still has not received 30 million won from the building owner."

Eventually unable to endure the situation, Mr. B was evicted. He expressed his frustration, saying, "They calculated the management fees according to their own method and sent a notice demanding an additional 24 million won," and added, "Due to COVID-19, I have been unable to operate for several months, but they checked my credit and even placed a lien on my rental house."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.