"To Prevent Tears from Jeonse Fraud"... Joint Legal Support TF Launched

On the 29th of last month, the Jeonse Fraud Victims Countermeasure Committee in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, held a press conference in front of Incheon City Hall in Namdong-gu, Incheon, urging for countermeasures to be established. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Wanyong] The government will operate a dedicated task force among related agencies to support and protect low-income tenants from jeonse fraud.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Justice announced on the 20th that they held the inaugural meeting of the "Joint Task Force for Legal Support of Tenants Victimized by Jeonse Fraud" (hereinafter TF) at a conference room near Seoul Station.

The TF is a follow-up measure from the national agenda inspection meeting presided over by the President on the 15th. It is composed of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the National Police Agency, Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (hereinafter HUG), the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (hereinafter Corporation), and private experts. The Deputy Minister of Justice and the Director General of the Housing and Land Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport serve as co-team leaders.

Going forward, the TF plans to focus on legal support measures such as consultations and litigation support through the Corporation, Legal Home Doctor, and Village Lawyers related to the return of tenants' deposits, as well as ways to shorten HUG's subrogation payment period.

In particular, the TF will review measures to enable tenants to promptly recover their deposits in cases where tenants suffer damages due to complicated debt relationships, such as the recent case of the "Villa King," where the landlord passed away.

Additionally, the TF will listen to the requests of victimized tenants and discuss necessary institutional improvements and support measures.

Kwon Soon-jung, Deputy Minister of Justice, said, "The TF will swiftly review complex legal issues with legal experts and provide one-stop support up to litigation assistance. If institutional shortcomings are identified during the TF discussions, we will prepare improvement measures."

Kwon Hyuk-jin, Director General of the Housing and Land Office at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, emphasized, "It is very regrettable that the risk of tenants losing their entire jeonse deposits, which are equivalent to their entire assets, is increasing. We will collaborate with related agencies to ensure tenants can promptly recover their deposits and conduct in-depth discussions on additional support measures."

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