[Tracking Jeonse Fraud Reality]④ "Lost All My Assets"... 2030 Youths Deprived of Their Bogumjari

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] "My daily life collapsed in an instant. One day, I suddenly received a notice that an auction procedure was being carried out on the villa I was living in. I never imagined that all the residents, including myself, would be victims of a jeonse fraud and be forced out onto the streets. I only remember staying up all night drinking and crying all day."

Choi, a 29-year-old office worker, sighed deeply as he shared his frustrating feelings. Last year, due to a construction contractor's fraudulent activities, the area around Sungui-dong, Michuhol-gu, Incheon was devastated, and Choi's precious home was also put up for auction.

The total jeonse deposit Choi could not recover was 80 million won. Living with his family, he sought a jeonse house three years ago to become independent from his parents for the first time in his life. During this time, Choi found a five-story villa in Sungui-dong, Michuhol-gu, Incheon through the internet and signed a contract in December 2020 by paying the jeonse deposit. He financed 50 million won through a loan, and the remaining 30 million won was his precious savings accumulated by cutting living expenses for over three years.

Before the contract, while nervously inspecting the house, he felt something was off. There was a mortgage of 120 million won on the property. However, Choi had no choice but to firmly trust the real estate agent who insisted there was no problem. The agent explained, "The owner is a wealthy person who owns several buildings, and I have been dealing with him for over 10 years, so there is nothing to worry about," adding, "Most houses naturally have mortgages of this level."

However, Choi could never have imagined that the agent was in collusion with the owner. He said, "In typical jeonse fraud cases, it is usually the owners who deceive tenants, so I never thought the agent would deceive me," and added, "A certified professional used difficult terms to explain, so I had no choice but to trust and sign the contract."

The tragedy struck suddenly. After living there for a year and a half without much worry, he received a notice in June last year that the house was going to be auctioned. The bigger problem was that other houses in the same villa were also undergoing auction procedures simultaneously. Since one owner held all the units in the villa, all the houses going to auction meant the owner was effectively bankrupt. This implied that the owner had no capacity to fully refund the tenants' jeonse deposits. Upon learning that the auction case numbers were linked, Choi sensed something was wrong and hurriedly tried to contact the owner, but could not reach him.

Ultimately, Choi could only watch helplessly as the house went to auction. Since the total amount of the first-priority mortgage and taxes was comparable to the winning bid, the possibility of recovering the jeonse deposit was slim. Because of the mortgage, Choi could not even subscribe to the jeonse deposit return guarantee insurance. Moreover, as many villas and urban-style residential houses in the area flooded the auction market, the likelihood of failed auctions increased. With repeated failures, the minimum winning bid price decreases, further reducing the amount of jeonse deposit Choi could recover.

Because his house went to auction, Choi does not know when he must move out and has no way to get his deposit back, leaving him feeling hopeless. He said, "I felt nauseous and couldn't eat properly, crying all day," and lamented, "I feel bitter that I ended up repaying their debts with the money I earned by dedicating my youth."

His only wish is to fully recover his jeonse deposit. Choi said, "I don't know how to repay the tens of millions of won in loan debt," and added, "Having lost all my assets, I am considering filing for personal rehabilitation." He continued, "There are many victims around me who cannot live normal lives," and expressed hope that "countermeasures will be prepared and this issue will be resolved quickly."

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