Prosecutors Appeal Villa King Backer’s 8-Year Prison Sentence

The prosecution appealed the first trial's 8-year prison sentence against a businessman identified as the mastermind behind the so-called 'Villa Kings,' who bought hundreds of villas and carried out jeonse fraud schemes.

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

On the 21st, the 3rd Trial Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jeong-ryeol) appealed the first trial verdict that sentenced Shin Mo (39), the CEO of a real estate consulting firm indicted on fraud charges, to 8 years in prison, arguing that the sentence was too lenient.

A prosecution official stated, "Considering comprehensively that the defendant actively recruited and managed multiple 'Villa Kings,' obtained substantial rebate profits, and destroyed the livelihoods of young victims just starting their lives in society, we requested a harsher sentence, but the verdict did not meet our expectations."

Earlier, Shin was brought to trial in February this year on charges of embezzling jeonse deposits by purchasing multi-family houses through a no-capital gap speculation method, using several so-called 'Villa Kings' who lent their names as nominal landlords to his company from 2017 to 2020.

Shin was identified as the mastermind behind several Villa Kings, including Jeong Mo, who died in Jeju in July 2021, after buying about 240 villas and officetels in the Gangseo and Yangcheon districts of Seoul and renting them out. Investigations revealed that he embezzled approximately 8 billion KRW in jeonse deposits from 37 tenants in the metropolitan area alone.

During the trial, Shin denied the charges, claiming, "The damage occurred due to the government's faulty policies."

The first trial recognized all of Shin's charges as guilty and sentenced him to 8 years in prison. The prosecution had requested a 13-year sentence.

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