Gyeongnam Province Takes Action to Prevent and Remedy Jeonse Fraud Victims

Emergency Housing Support, Low-Interest Loans, and Jeonse Deposit Return Guarantee Fee Support, etc.

Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 21st that it will establish a cooperative system with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to respond to jeonse fraud and assist affected tenants.

According to Gyeongsangnam-do, if tenants who have suffered from jeonse fraud urgently need a place to live, they can receive emergency housing support by utilizing public rental housing from the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and local public corporations.

Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

When relocating, tenants can submit a jeonse fraud confirmation certificate or related supporting documents to Woori, Kookmin, Nonghyup, Shinhan, or Hana Bank to apply for low-interest loans with interest rates ranging from 1 to 2%.

Supporting documents refer to those proving that one month has passed since the contract ended or that the tenant’s rights have been extinguished due to the property being sold through a public auction or court auction, yet the deposit has not been refunded.

For detailed application information, inquiries can be made to the Jeonse Fraud Support Center or the provincial civil service call center, and information is also available on the Safe Jeonse Portal.

Safe Jeonse App screen. [Image source=Safe Jeonse App introduction on Google Play Store]

The ‘Safe Jeonse’ app, downloadable on mobile devices, allows users to view key information to check when signing a jeonse contract at a glance.

By additionally entering information such as jeonse deposit market prices, priority rights, mortgages, and jeonse deposits, users can receive ▲a self-diagnosis result on whether the jeonse contract is safe ▲whether the property is eligible for HUG’s jeonse deposit return guarantee ▲whether the landlord is malicious ▲and tax delinquency information.

In addition, the province is implementing measures to prevent jeonse fraud, including improving guarantee systems, strengthening information provision at each contract stage, and enhancing real estate agents’ responsibilities.

For young adults and newlyweds residing in the province, the existing provincial subsidy project for jeonse deposit return guarantee fees will be expanded to a 600 million KRW project supported by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The province is strengthening responsibilities by publicly disclosing real estate agents’ histories, verifying landlord information and guarantee insurance enrollment, confirming and explaining brokerage properties, and expanding guidance and inspections of offices, continuing from last year, to encourage agents to actively prevent jeonse fraud.

Real estate transaction accident prevention education will be conducted regionally for licensed real estate agents in the province, and detailed business histories will be disclosed through the Safe Jeonse app to help identify risky agents.

If there is even one suspicion that a real estate agent has participated in jeonse fraud, strict punishment will be enforced, including revoking the agent’s license under a ‘one-strike-out’ policy.

In cooperation with the Korea Association of Realtors Gyeongnam Branch and the police, efforts will be intensified to crack down on illegal online advertisements that deceive young adults entering society.

Heo Dongsik, Director of the Urban Housing Bureau, stated, “We will strive to ensure that tenants who have suffered from jeonse fraud receive necessary financial and housing support,” adding, “We will do our best to help tenants acquire sufficient prior information at every contract stage to prevent jeonse fraud in advance and to protect the valuable jeonse deposits of our residents from jeonse fraud.”

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