Seocho-gu Takes Action to Prevent Damage from Jeonse Fraud and Other Scams

‘Safe Lease Contract Service for Single-Person Households’ Fully Launched to Assist Those Facing Difficulties in Real Estate Contracts

Five Housing Safety Managers Appointed to Provide Contract Consultation, Housing Search Support, Accompaniment for Safe Housing, and Housing Policy Guidance

Support Also Includes Operation of a Reporting Center and ID Badge Program for Licensed Realtors to Prevent Disruption of Real Estate Transaction Order

Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) is taking measures to prevent real estate-related damages amid recent social issues such as lease fraud.

First, the district has been fully operating the ‘Seocho-gu Safe Lease Contract Assistance Service for Single-Person Households’ since this month. This service aims to help single-person households, who are relatively vulnerable to real estate contracts due to lack of experience and information?such as young adults starting their careers or those signing their first contracts?settle down stably.

Last September, the district appointed four licensed realtors with extensive real estate experience and local knowledge as Housing Safety Managers to pilot the program. As a result, by the end of March this year, 130 contracts were supported. Mainly, young people in their 20s and 30s accounted for 87% of all users.

Based on these results, the district increased the number of Housing Safety Managers from four to five this month to provide higher-quality services.

The ‘Seocho-gu Safe Lease Contract Assistance Service for Single-Person Households’ mainly supports ▲lease contract consultation ▲housing search assistance ▲accompaniment for safe housing ▲housing policy guidance.

Housing Safety Managers provide one-on-one customized consultations on precautions during real estate contracts, accompany single-person households directly to the site to advise on the condition of the building’s interior and exterior, and participate in the contract process if necessary to help single-person households conclude contracts.

The service is available free of charge to single-person households residing or planning to reside in Seocho-gu.

Consultations are held every Monday and Thursday from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM at the Real Estate Information Division of Seocho-gu Office. Applications can be made through the Seoul Single-Person Household Portal or the Seocho-gu Office Real Estate Information Division, and consultations are provided by phone or in person after prior reservation.

Additionally, starting from the 1st of next month, the district will operate the ‘Real Estate Transaction Order Disruption Reporting Center.’ To prevent practices such as inflating actual transaction prices or colluding on housing prices to induce transactions above certain prices, the Real Estate Information Division of Seocho-gu Office will accept reports and provide consultations. The district will investigate reported cases and impose fines on violators and notify relevant authorities.

Moreover, to prevent illegal brokerage activities by unqualified or unregistered real estate agents, the district is operating the ‘Licensed Realtor ID Badge Program.’ This program instills pride in licensed realtors and builds trust with sellers and buyers, receiving strong support from residents.

In the future, the district plans to conduct legal compliance education for licensed realtors to prevent false transaction reports.

Jeon Seong-su, Mayor of Seocho-gu, stated, “We will strive to protect residents’ valuable assets by preparing various support measures to prevent real estate damages.”

Seodaemun-gu Provides 30 Billion KRW Scale Special Unsecured Credit Guarantee for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Supports 1% Interest Burden for One Year to Alleviate Interest Burden Due to High Interest Rates

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Lee Seong-heon) will implement a 30 billion KRW scale special unsecured credit guarantee starting May 1 to alleviate financial difficulties of local small and medium-sized enterprises struggling to normalize management.

To this end, the district signed a business agreement with financial institutions (Woori Bank, Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank) and the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation, who share the will to provide close local support.

Accordingly, Seodaemun-gu contributed 700 million KRW, Woori Bank 1 billion KRW, Kookmin Bank 500 million KRW, and Hana Bank 200 million KRW, raising a total guarantee fund of 2.4 billion KRW.

The Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation will provide guarantee support equivalent to 12.5 times this amount, totaling 30 billion KRW.

The guarantee limit per person is 50 million KRW, and applicants can choose between ‘1-year grace period with 4-year equal installment repayment’ or ‘2-year grace period with 3-year equal installment repayment.’ Additionally, the district supports 1% of the interest burden for the first year of the loan.

The target applicants are small and medium-sized business owners who have operated in Seodaemun-gu for more than six months. Applicants must prepare related documents such as a copy of their business registration certificate and sales performance certificate (financial statements), consult at the Seodaemun branch of the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation, and obtain a guarantee certificate.

Afterward, they can visit Woori Bank (Seodaemun-gu Office, Yeonhui-dong, Dongnimmun branches, Hongje-dong, Sinchon Financial Center), Kookmin Bank (Yeonhui-dong, Hongje-dong, Namgajwa-dong, Moraenae, Seodaemun, Sinchon branches), or Hana Bank (Sinchon branch).

The district will expand the guarantee limit up to 100 million KRW for stores located in the Sinchon and Ewha commercial districts (Daehyeon-dong, Changcheon-dong) after additional credit evaluation. Woori Bank will be the executing institution for this. However, interest compensation will not be provided for this additional amount.

Seodaemun-gu is promoting various support projects for small and medium-sized businesses, including operating a small business development fund and providing education for small business owners. Additionally, it plans to issue an additional 18.7 billion KRW worth of Seodaemun Love Gift Certificates in September this year.

Lee Seong-heon, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, said, “Although we have entered the post-COVID-19 recovery phase, many small and medium-sized business owners are still going through difficult times, and we hope this credit guarantee support will be of some help.”

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