72 Cases of Fraudulent Apartment Applications in Dongtan 2 and Gwanggyo New Towns... Illicit Gains of 62.7 Billion KRW

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has uncovered 72 fraudulent applicants who falsely registered their resident registration to gain subscription points or disguised that they were supporting their mother-in-law, who was admitted to a nursing home, as living at home, thereby fraudulently meeting the apartment supply qualifications in the Dongtan 2 and Gwanggyo New Town areas and winning the lottery.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit announced on the 15th that after conducting an investigation since March of this year into three overheated apartment complexes with high subscription competition rates in Hwaseong Dongtan 2 New Town and Suwon Gwanggyo New Town (Dongtan 2 Dietre Prestige, Dongtan 2 Jeil Punggyeongchae Prestige, and Gwanggyo Hillstate Gwanggyo Jungang Station First), they identified 72 fraudulent applicants who won by falsely obtaining subscription qualifications such as special supply.

One major case involved Mr. A, who applied for the newlywed special supply quota (162:1), which has a lower competition rate than the general supply, to receive an apartment in 'Dongtan 2 Dietre Prestige' in Hwaseong City, which had the highest subscription competition rate in the province last year at 809:1. However, Mr. A, who lived with her husband and children in Dalseo-gu, Daegu Metropolitan City, falsely registered her resident registration in a goshiwon (small lodging house) in Seoul in October 2020 to obtain the qualification of 'residing in the metropolitan area' but was found to have never actually lived there even for a single day. Mr. A’s illicit gains amounted to 1.2 billion KRW.

The special judicial police unit uncovered six people, including Mr. A, who fraudulently met the newlywed special supply subscription qualifications and won. Their total illicit gains were calculated at 6.2 billion KRW.

Mr. B, residing in Seongnam, registered his mother-in-law as a household member as if he was actually supporting her, thereby gaining 5 extra subscription points and winning an apartment in 'Dongtan 2 Dietre Prestige.' However, the mother-in-law has been admitted to a nursing home in Seojong-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, since 2018 due to dementia and old age. Despite this, Mr. B disguised that he was supporting her at his residence in Seongnam City, failing to register her resident registration at the nursing home address as required by the Resident Registration Act, and received the apartment, gaining illicit profits of 1.2 billion KRW.

Mr. C, residing in Hwaseong, falsely registered his father, who has been living in his own apartment in Cheoin-gu, Yongin City since 2015, as a resident in Hwaseong City in May 2018 to receive the special supply for elderly parent support at the 'Dongtan 2 Jeil Punggyeongchae Prestige' apartment in Hwaseong City, thereby gaining illicit profits of 500 million KRW. In total, 22 people fraudulently obtained the elderly parent support special supply qualification, which requires a support period of over three years, and their illicit gains amounted to 18.2 billion KRW.

Mr. D, who has lived in a company house in Yeonggwang-gun, Jeollanam-do for 16 years, disguised his resident registration in April 2020 at a villa in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, where his eldest daughter lives, to win an apartment in 'Hillstate Gwanggyo Jungang Station First' in Suwon City. Recently, he also registered his second daughter living in Daejeon and his son living in Suwon as residents at this villa. Mr. D exploited the system that awards more subscription points for having many dependents while residing in the metropolitan area, winning the subscription and gaining illicit profits of 700 million KRW.

The special judicial police unit uncovered 44 people who fraudulently met the general supply qualifications and received apartments through illegal means. Their total illicit gains amounted to 38.3 billion KRW.

Under the current Housing Act, those who receive housing through false or fraudulent means face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW (if the amount equivalent to three times the illicit gains exceeds 30 million KRW, the fine can be up to three times the gains).

Kim Young-soo, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit, emphasized, "Over the past four years, we have conducted seven investigations into apartment subscription fraud and uncovered 1,510 fraudulent applicants. As criminal activities are becoming increasingly sophisticated and frequent, we will expand investigations comprehensively on pre-sale apartments and concentrate investigative capabilities to eradicate illegal speculation such as fraudulent subscriptions."

The special judicial police unit is currently investigating cases where members of local housing cooperatives in the province have fraudulently acquired their membership status. The results of the investigation will be announced in July.

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