[Reporter’s Notebook] "Is There Really a Solution?" Anguish of 'Villa King' Victims at the Briefing

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Minjae] "The victims gathered here are people who left their livelihoods behind, hoping for government measures to come out. We did not come here just to hear these kinds of words." (Villa King Jeonse Fraud Victim Mr. A)

On the afternoon of the 10th at 2 PM, a victim tenant who attended the Jeonse Deposit Damage Tenant Briefing held at the Federation of Korean Industries Building in Yeouido, Seoul, expressed his frustration. At the briefing, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it would officially begin procedures to support victims of Jeonse fraud and prevent incidents like the 'Villa King' case, but the victims raised their voices, saying that there was no plan to recover the deposit, which is equivalent to their entire property.

Although the briefing was for victims who had not subscribed to the tenant deposit return guarantee insurance provided by the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), the victims pointed out that only unhelpful information was listed. Tenant Mr. B said, "The measures presented today are things that can already be found on the Jeonse fraud victim cafe," and added, "Many unsubscribed victims are suffering because they cannot auction the house due to about 6.3 billion KRW in 'tax claims' related to Villa King Kim, but the government has not provided a proper answer." If the Jeonse contract was made after the statutory date for the tax claim, the auction cannot proceed due to a no-surplus dismissal. In this case, victims cannot even receive a 'self-bid' and must bear high interest indefinitely.

Of course, tax law amendments are not a simple matter. However, the tenants protested that the briefing should have provided more sincere answers rather than just saying "we will check" or "we will review." Tenant Mr. C said, "Last month, after holding a press conference in Sejong and discussing with Ministry of Land officials, it was decided to accept pre-submitted questions, and the tax claim issue was included in the question list for this day," and questioned, "If most answers are just 'under review' or 'in progress,' why hold an additional briefing and accept pre-submitted questions?"

As tenants' questions and protests flooded in, the briefing went on for more than three hours, far exceeding the scheduled time. Most of the attendees were in their 20s and 30s, and since they had to return to their busy livelihoods the next day, it was probably difficult for them to leave early. In fact, young generation victim tenants made up the majority on site. They became debt defaulters overnight because they could not get their Jeonse deposits back, through no fault of their own. Whose fault is the suffering of these young people, whose daily lives have become impossible? One thing is certain: the government's emphasized measures have already become a case of locking the barn after the horse has bolted. To alleviate the suffering of young people who cannot even proceed with auctions and are burdened with high interest rates of 6-7%, the government urgently needs to prepare effective measures.

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