"'This Is a 'Bad Landlord' Property' New Disclosure Website Launched"

Landlord's Personal Information Published for Not Returning Deposit
"Criminal Punishment Alone Cannot Prevent Damage" Supportive Atmosphere
Bill to Disclose Landlord's Identity Passed Last February

As cases of jeonse fraud continue to surge across the country, a website has emerged that publicly discloses the personal information of landlords who refuse to return jeonse deposits.

On the 25th, a homepage named "Bad Landlord" revealed personal details such as the names, photos, dates of birth, and addresses of landlords who have not returned jeonse deposits.

Additionally, as of the 25th, the site posted information on seven landlords, including Kim (43), known as the "Villa King," who owned over 1,000 houses but did not return jeonse deposits and passed away last year, as well as methods to avoid jeonse fraud.

As cases of jeonse fraud continue to surge across the country, a website called "Bad Landlord" has emerged, revealing the personal information of landlords who refuse to return jeonse deposits.
[Photo by Bad Landlord website capture]

This homepage is known to have been created by an individual last October with the purpose of preventing additional jeonse fraud. The operator receives documents about malicious landlords via email, reviews them, notifies the landlords about the disclosure of their personal information, and then posts the information on the homepage two weeks later.

The site administrators pointed out through the homepage, "There are too many jeonse fraudsters around who use methods such as fake divorces to avoid returning deposits, taking out loans at banks on the contract day, and deceiving tenants by claiming the property is a trust real estate." They added, "We report bad landlords who steal tenants' hard-earned money, pay only light fines, and live well with the stolen money."

Disclosure of Personal Information, Risk of Defamation Under Current Law

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Victims of jeonse fraud and those about to enter jeonse contracts generally support the disclosure of personal information, arguing that criminal punishment alone cannot prevent numerous cases of jeonse fraud. However, concerns have been raised that such disclosures could be subject to defamation charges under current law.

Even if the posted information is true, publicly posting personal information in a place accessible to many people and thereby damaging another person's reputation can result in imprisonment for up to two years, detention, or a fine of up to 5 million won.

Meanwhile, legislation to disclose the personal information of malicious landlords has already been established. On February 27, the National Assembly passed a bill to disclose the personal information of landlords who habitually fail to return jeonse deposits, and starting this September, the names, ages, addresses, and other details of malicious landlords will be available on the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG)'s Safe Jeonse app.

The disclosure targets landlords who have failed to return deposits totaling 200 million won or more after HUG paid the deposit to tenants on their behalf, and who have failed to repay two or more such debts within three years from the date the subrogation debt arose.

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