Lee Jae-myung: "Strong Response to 'Jeonse Fraud' Stealing Deposits... Many Victims Are University Students, Young Professionals, and Newlyweds"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, promised on the 6th to establish a prevention system and strengthen punishments to eradicate so-called ‘empty-can jeonse’ and other jeonse frauds that swindle the jeonse deposits of low-income households.

On the same day, Lee announced his 40th ‘So-hwak-haeng’ (small but certain happiness) pledge through social media (SNS), stating, “We will strongly respond to jeonse fraud that steals deposits painstakingly prepared by ordinary people and will definitely eradicate it.”

Lee explained, “Jeonse fraud is an antisocial crime that threatens the housing stability of ordinary people,” adding, “According to the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), as of October last year, there were 154 malicious landlords who committed jeonse fraud, with 1,194 cases of unreturned deposits and damages amounting to 243.3 billion KRW.” He further noted, “More than two-thirds of the victims are young generations in their 20s and 30s, such as university students, early career workers, and newlyweds,” and pledged, “We will eradicate jeonse fraud through strong punishment of those involved, establishment of prevention systems, and support for damage recovery.”

Key measures proposed include ‘strong punishment of those involved,’ ‘establishment of prevention systems,’ and ‘support for damage recovery.’ First, Lee stated that he would expand the ‘Empty-can Jeonse Damage Prevention Counseling Center,’ which he established during his tenure as governor of Gyeonggi Province, nationwide. Through this center, anyone can receive individual damage counseling, and public institutions such as HUG will actively file criminal charges against suspected jeonse fraud cases.

Lee promised, “We will strengthen punishments for licensed and unlicensed real estate agents involved in jeonse fraud,” and “We will also enhance the level of penalties and liability for damages.”

Additionally, to prevent cases where a mortgage right is discovered late after the real estate contract is completed, he said, “We will link with the financial system so that tenants can check whether a mortgage right has been set on the relevant property.” Lee explained, “Currently, it is possible to know if a mortgage right has been established on a property at the contract stage, but there is no way to check if the mortgage right is in the process of being set. As a result, even if a mortgage right is discovered late after the contract is completed, tenants have no way to respond.”

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