"Suffocated by Jeonse Fraud"... The Lives of 2030 Youth Completely Ruined

2030 Without Real Estate Contract Experience Targeted by Crime
47.7% of Jeonse Fraud Victims Are Youth
Experts Say "Resolve Information Asymmetry and Government Should Disclose Market Prices"

"The landlord is involved in a jeonse fraud loan scam, and I have not received my deposit of 80 million won. Every day feels suffocating, and I just want to die."

Ahn Sang-mi, Chairperson of the Jeonse Fraud Victim Countermeasures Committee, is choking up during a press conference urging the establishment of 'Countermeasures for Jeonse Fraud Victims' in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 18th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

This is what Choi, a person in their 20s who has been struggling financially after falling victim to jeonse fraud in February, said. On the 14th, a young man who was suffering from financial hardship after not receiving a 90 million won deposit for an officetel committed suicide. As jeonse fraud cases surge nationwide, it has been revealed that people in their 20s and 30s, who lack experience in real estate contracts, have become prime targets of jeonse fraud. The fraudsters exploited the fact that these victims generally have relatively little capital and lack information.

47.7% of Jeonse Fraud Victims Are 'Young Adults in Their 20s and 30s'

According to a nationwide special crackdown on jeonse fraud conducted by the National Police Agency from July last year to March this year, out of 1,460 victims, 696 (47.7%) were young adults in their 20s and 30s. They were followed by those in their 40s (222), 50s (167), and 60s (99). During the same period, the police arrested 2,141 suspects and detained 189, with total damages amounting to 272.8 billion won.

Recently, officetel jeonse fraud has been rampant. On the 18th, the Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station in Gyeonggi Province launched an investigation after receiving a report that a landlord owning about 250 officetel units was not returning deposits, raising concerns about a potential large-scale jeonse fraud incident.

A police official stated, "We have started an investigation based on a victim's report and are currently verifying additional victims and the exact amount of damages." The reporter is said to have claimed that although their officetel jeonse contract expired, they have not received their deposit back.

The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Police Agency recently sent landlord A, who embezzled officetel jeonse deposits, to prosecution on fraud charges. A had signed jeonse contracts with over 100 tenants and disappeared without returning the deposits.

As young victims of jeonse fraud have resorted to extreme measures, there is a growing atmosphere of collective response. Previously, the National Countermeasure Committee for Jeonse Fraud and Empty Jeonse Victims held a press conference in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, stating, "The lax system that does not allow prior knowledge of artificially inflated market prices or landlords’ tens of billions in arrears has caused these outcomes," and added, "The government, which bears clear responsibility for reckless jeonse loans, indiscriminate guarantees, and poor guarantee insurance, must actively resolve these issues."

Experts: "Reducing Information Asymmetry and Objective Market Price Evaluation Are Crucial"

Experts agree that to prevent jeonse fraud, government agencies must conduct objective market price evaluations and reduce information asymmetry.

Jung Byung-joo, representative lawyer at Law Office Naun, said, "Jeonse fraud crimes occur due to opaque market prices," and added, "A possible solution is for the government to assess and disclose market prices whenever new buildings are constructed." Lee Eun-hyung, a research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Construction Policy, said, "Young people with low economic power tend to cluster in villas, which are cheaper than apartments, making them more vulnerable to crime," and emphasized, "To resolve information asymmetry, transparent disclosure of market prices should be implemented as soon as possible."

There were also calls for enacting a special law for victim relief. Kim Nam-geun, a lawyer at Law Firm WeMen, commented on the government's temporary suspension of auctions, saying, "While KAMCO’s auctions can be postponed for a considerable period, court auctions are unlikely to be delayed," and stressed, "A special law for victim relief should be established within six months." He added, "Since individual legal disputes take a long time, one method could be for asset management corporations to collectively acquire landlords’ deposit return claims so that tenants can continue living in their homes."

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