[2023 National Audit] Fraudulent Subscription Cases Up 44% in 3 Years... "Neglect in Illegal Activity Measures"

Paju Unjeong Leads with 28 Cases Detected
Daegu and Busan Also Face Mass Bankbook Trading Violations

Cases of illegally receiving housing allocations through false address registration, fake divorces, and account trading have increased by 44% over the past three years.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Jang Cheol-min, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party representing Daejeon Dong-gu, a total of 981 cases of fraudulent subscription were detected from 2020 to 2022.

By year, the number of detected fraudulent subscriptions nearly doubled from 228 cases in 2020 to 424 cases in 2021, then was recorded at 329 cases in 2022. The detection of fraudulent subscriptions increased by more than 100 cases (44%) over three years.

By type, false address registration was the most common with 501 cases. Account and qualification trading accounted for 294 cases, illegal supply 143 cases, fake marriage, divorce, or single status 36 cases, and illegal resale 7 cases, in that order.

In fact, Mr. A was found to have won the ‘Newlywed Special Supply’ in Sejong in the second half of last year, then faked a divorce with his husband, after which the husband applied again for a housing subscription in Sejong as a single-parent family and won.

In the first half of last year in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, four people residing in Pyeongtaek, Incheon, Ansan, and Yongin won a housing subscription in one complex through the ‘Multi-child Special Supply’ by handing over their public authentication certificates to a subscription broker. In Paju Unjeong alone last year, 28 cases of fraudulent subscriptions were detected.

In addition, in Daegu’s P complex, 47 cases of account trading were detected, and in Busan’s L complex, 30 cases of account trading were found, showing that fraudulent subscription cases have been rampant in local areas as well.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, together with the Korea Real Estate Board, is conducting joint on-site inspections of supply order disruption acts such as fraudulent subscriptions. If illegal acts are detected during this process, investigations are requested from investigative agencies such as the police and prosecution. Subsequently, those involved in illegal acts will face contract cancellations or a 10-year subscription ban depending on the investigation results.

Assemblyman Jang Cheol-min pointed out, "The government is solely focused on housing supply with deregulation measures such as abolishing resale restrictions under the banner of national housing stability, but it is very negligent in preparing countermeasures for side effects and illegal acts. Intentional illegal acts in the housing market, such as fraudulent subscriptions and lease fraud, require strict penalties and proactive relief measures for victims."

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