'Villa King of Hwagok-dong' Owning 283 Houses Who Troubled 2030 and Newlyweds Arrested and Indicted

Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Seoyul] The 'Villa King of Hwagok-dong,' who embezzled approximately 3.168 billion KRW in lease deposit money through capital-free gap investment, has been arrested. Most of the victims are identified as young professionals and newlyweds.

According to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office on the 4th, Kang (55), a rental business operator who purchased 283 villas in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and embezzled 3.168 billion KRW in lease deposits from 18 victims, was arrested and indicted on charges of fraud. Real estate agents A (53) and B (46), who conspired with Kang to receive kickbacks, were indicted without detention.

Kang and others are accused of, from October 2015 to December 2018, paying the villa purchase price to the building owners using tenants' lease deposits without investing their own capital, then receiving kickbacks of 5 to 15 million KRW per villa from the building owners, which they shared among themselves.

Despite lacking the ability to return the deposits normally at the end of the lease period, Kang continued the scheme under the expectation of rising housing prices by 'rolling over deposits,' ultimately failing to return the lease deposits to the victims. A and B, knowing this, encouraged Kang's rental business and were found to have effectively led the operation.

For some victims, although the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation's subrogation procedure was underway at the time of contract, Kang showed them registrations with false sale prices to reassure them that it was not a 'Kkangtong Jeonse' (empty lease), thereby concealing the truth.

Most victims are young professionals and newlyweds in their 20s and 30s, suffering losses such as losing funds for housing and their residences due to this case. Prosecutors expect there may be more victims beyond the 18 who have filed complaints so far.

A representative from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office stated, "We will actively reveal the substantive damages to the victims and other sentencing factors to ensure that the defendants receive sentences commensurate with their crimes, and we will devote all efforts to maintaining the prosecution." They added, "We will continue to respond strictly through the 'Jeonse Fraud Task Force' to prevent the spread of harm to ordinary citizens caused by Jeonse fraud crimes."

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