Changwon Special City Takes Action to Prevent Damage, Providing Housing and Financial Support for Jeonse Victims

Support for Jeonse Damage and Strengthened Crackdown to Prevent Recurrence

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam Province will take action to support tenants who have suffered from jeonse fraud and to prevent its recurrence in response to the nationwide surge in victims of jeonse fraud.

To this end, the city has established a cooperative system with Gyeongsangnam-do Province, the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) to promptly support tenants affected by jeonse fraud. Additionally, to prevent jeonse fraud, the city will expand support for jeonse deposit return guarantee insurance premiums and conduct joint inspections targeting real estate agencies in densely populated multi-family and multi-unit housing areas, as well as private rental business operators holding a large number of rental houses.

Changwon Special City Hall, Gyeongnam.
Photo by Se-ryeong Lee

First, tenants affected by jeonse fraud can apply for a "Jeonse Fraud Confirmation Certificate" at the Gyeongnam Provincial Government for the purposes of "low-interest loans" or "emergency housing support." When moving residences, tenants can submit the Jeonse Fraud Confirmation Certificate or supporting documents to banks (Woori, Kookmin, Nonghyup, Shinhan, Hana) to receive low-interest loans (interest rate 1 to 2%). Tenants who urgently need housing and have obtained the Jeonse Fraud Confirmation Certificate will receive "emergency housing support" through the Changwon City Housing Policy Division, utilizing public rental housing owned by LH within the jurisdiction.

For detailed application information, inquiries can be made by phone to the HUG Jeonse Fraud Support Center, Gyeongsangnam-do Civil Service Call Center, or Changwon City Housing Policy Division.

In addition, to prevent jeonse fraud in advance, the city will implement the "Jeonse Deposit Return Guarantee Insurance Premium Support Project" by securing an additional 20 million KRW in city funds on top of the initial budget of 30 million KRW for tenants with jeonse contracts.

This project fully supports the insurance premiums paid when subscribing to jeonse deposit insurance through the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation and the Korea Housing Finance Corporation to prevent damage from non-return of deposits. Eligible recipients are tenants residing in single-family or multi-family housing in Changwon City with a middle income of 200% or less and a deposit of 150 million KRW or less.

Furthermore, starting in the second half of this year, an additional "Jeonse Deposit Return Guarantee Insurance Premium Support Project" will be implemented targeting low-income youth vulnerable to jeonse fraud. Eligible recipients are non-homeowners aged 19 to 39 with a jeonse deposit of 300 million KRW or less and an annual income of 50 million KRW or less. A budget of 206 million KRW has been secured to support 1,320 households.

In particular, joint inspections will be conducted by the 26th targeting real estate agencies in areas with a high ratio of jeonse, concerns about reverse jeonse, and "empty jeonse" due to market price declines. These inspections will focus on false or bait advertisements, price collusion, and other activities disrupting real estate transaction order, as well as the status of private rental business operators' subscription to guarantee insurance. The city also plans to strengthen education on preventing real estate transaction accidents and promote policies supporting victims of jeonse fraud.

Hong Nam-pyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, stated, "In response to recent cases where tenants have not received their deposits back after lease contracts end, we will respond swiftly in line with government support measures. We will do our utmost to prevent jeonse fraud through expanding support for jeonse deposit return guarantee insurance premiums for low-income tenants and conducting frequent joint inspections of real estate agencies and rental business operators."

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