Police Send 443 People Involved in Jeonse Fraud to Prosecution... More Than Half Are Loan Frauds

227 People Involved in Jeonse Fraud and Loan Fraud, 124 in No-Capital Gap Investment, etc.

The police have referred more than 400 individuals to the prosecution in connection with the surge of jeonse fraud cases occurring throughout the Seoul metropolitan area.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official stated at a press briefing on the 24th, "As a result of the nationwide special crackdown on jeonse fraud, a total of 443 people have been sent to the prosecution."

The police have been conducting the nationwide special crackdown on jeonse fraud since July 25 of last year, and are currently investigating 180 cases involving 646 individuals. Among them, 443 have been referred to the prosecution.

Looking at the prosecution referrals by type, 227 people (51%) were involved in jeonse loan fraud, 124 people (28%) in gap investment without capital, and 52 people (12%) in illegal brokerage activities.

On the 17th, a woman in her 30s who was a victim of jeonse fraud in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, passed away, and this year, three victims of jeonse fraud have taken extreme measures due to severe financial hardship. In response, the police have decided to expand investigations beyond the usual focus on malicious landlords to include all cases such as those suspected of jeonse fraud reported in the media and those filed with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Jeonse Damage Support Center.

According to the police's special crackdown on jeonse fraud, as of this month, the number of victims in referred cases amounts to 1,705, with damages totaling 309.9 billion won. Notably, 33.4% (570 people) of the victims are in their 30s, and 18.1% (308 people) are in their 20s, meaning that victims in their 20s and 30s, including young professionals and newlyweds, account for well over half of the total.

A police official said, "We will apply the crime syndicate organization charge to organized jeonse fraud and actively pursue the confiscation and recovery of criminal proceeds."

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