Landlord Owning 64 Officetel Units Disappears... Concerns Over Empty Jeonse Rentals

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] A landlord owning 64 officetel units suddenly disappeared with more than 4 billion won in deposits, prompting a police investigation.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 9th that a man in his 30s, Mr. A, has disappeared without returning the jeonse deposits for dozens of units, and an investigation will be launched.

In February 2021, Mr. A purchased 64 units out of about 270 unsold officetel units at once and started a rental business.

Mr. A received deposits ranging from 80 million to 140 million won per unit, and it is known that the current market price per unit is about 160 million won.

The problem is that Mr. A took out loans worth tens of billions of won using the officetel and the commercial properties he owned as collateral, resulting in a "kan-tong jeonse" (empty jeonse) situation where the total deposits and loan amounts exceed the total market value, raising concerns that the deposits may not be recoverable.

Most tenants did not subscribe to jeonse deposit insurance, and the real estate agency that mediated the jeonse contracts has closed down, causing distress.

A police official said, "The case has been assigned to the Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit for focused investigation."

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