Court Sentences ‘Villa King’ Real Estate Dealer to 8 Years in Prison

Law: "75% of victims are in their 20s and 30s, causing massive damage and profiting"

The CEO of a real estate consulting firm, identified as the mastermind behind the 'Villa Kings' who committed lease fraud by purchasing hundreds of multi-family houses, was sentenced to a heavy prison term in the first trial.

On the 14th, Judge Kang Min-ho of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 10 sentenced Shin (39), who was arrested and indicted on fraud charges, to eight years in prison.

Judge Kang pointed out, "Seventy-five percent of the victims were in their 20s to 30s without an established economic foundation, and the defendant exploited their trust that the rental deposit would naturally be returned, causing enormous damage and gaining profits."

He added, "The defendant claims that the damage occurred due to the government's faulty policies, but this is absolutely unacceptable," and imposed a heavy sentence of eight years in prison.

Shin was brought to trial in February this year on charges of embezzling about 8 billion won in lease deposits by purchasing multi-family houses through a no-capital gap speculation method, using multiple homeowners who lent their names to his company from July 2017 to September 2020.

Shin was identified as the mastermind behind several 'Villa Kings,' including Jeong, who suddenly died in Jeju in July 2021, after buying and renting out about 240 villas and officetels in the Gangseo and Yangcheon districts of Seoul.

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