'Architect King' Gang Charged with Organized Crime... First Case of Jeonse Fraud

For the first time in a jeonse fraud case, the so-called 'Construction King' gang has been charged with organizing a criminal group.

The Anti-Corruption Economic Crime Investigation Division 1 of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 10th that they plan to send 51 members of the construction contractor A (61) and his gang to the prosecution on charges including fraud.

A and others are suspected of embezzling 43 billion won in jeonse deposits from tenants for 533 apartments and villas in the Michuhol-gu area of Incheon from March 2021 to July last year.

The police additionally applied charges of organizing a criminal group to 18 of the 51 suspects, including A.

They include nominal landlords, brokerage assistants, and fund managers. This is the first time that charges of organizing a criminal group have been applied to a gang involved in a jeonse fraud case.

According to the police investigation, A operated 5 to 7 real estate agencies under the names of licensed real estate agents to manage his rental business, assigning them exclusively to handle brokerage of houses he owned.

He also organized the agencies into teams such as a brokerage team, housing management team, and planning and administration team, paying salaries and performance bonuses based on contract conclusions to licensed real estate agents belonging to the brokerage team.

During this process, the licensed real estate agents concealed the fact that A was the actual owner of the houses, and from January last year, even though auctions had started on several houses, they signed jeonse contracts without informing the tenants, according to the investigation.

An information notice indicating that the apartment is under investigation for a jeonse fraud case is posted on the front door of an apartment in Michuhol-gu, Incheon.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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