[Interview] Ahn Sang-mi, Chairperson of the National Countermeasures Committee for Jeonse Fraud and Empty Jeonse Victims

"The prosecution must track and recover the assets of the nominal landlords who lent their names so that the victims can receive even a single penny."

On the 4th, Ahn Sang-mi, Chairperson of the National Countermeasure Committee for Jeonse Fraud and Empty Jeonse Victims, said in an interview with this paper, "Proper investigation means tracking the alias accounts or hidden assets of the jeonse fraud gang and returning them to the victims."

Ahn Sang-mi, Chairperson of the National Countermeasure Committee for Jeonse Fraud and Empty Jeonse Victims

The ‘National Countermeasure Committee for Jeonse Fraud and Empty Jeonse Victims’ was formed in April following a large-scale jeonse fraud case in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, with victims urging the government to establish effective countermeasures. Chairperson Ahn took on the role of committee chairperson when the apartment she rented in Michuhol-gu, where she was a victim of jeonse fraud, went up for auction causing her to lose her deposit. While preparing a class-action lawsuit with other tenants who suffered the same damage, she joined the committee upon its launch.

The government announced on the 1st that "a total of about 116.3 billion won has been confiscated and recovered through nationwide investigations into jeonse fraud." Chairperson Ahn argued, "No matter the amount, it only goes to banks holding senior claims, and the victims of jeonse fraud are left empty-handed," adding, "Among the government’s victim support measures, granting priority purchase rights for auctioned or public sale houses is also ineffective."

Ahn said, "There are houses where the auction rest period of three months passes and the auction starts again. Even if victims try to exercise priority purchase rights, they have to bid the highest price, so they inevitably lose out to speculators." She explained that even if victims are lucky enough to win the bid, they must pay a deposit of over 10 million won and acquisition tax, which is unrealistic for victims who have lost their entire savings and must raise a large sum again.

Regarding the public opinion that is not entirely favorable to the victims’ call for ‘priority relief,’ Chairperson Ahn said, "There are loopholes in the related system behind the occurrence of jeonse fraud, and banks also bear responsibility, so why should only the victims be held accountable?" She insisted, "The most practical support measure is for the government to purchase the claims and provide priority relief to all victims." She also stated that before implementing priority relief measures, at least improvements to the priority repayment rights should be immediately pursued.

Ahn argued, "In the apartment where I live, many tenants signed contracts last year with deposits around 100 million won, but because a mortgage was set in 2015 when the deposit standard was within 80 million won, they cannot recover a single penny," adding, "Banks must have considered the possibility of not receiving priority repayment when they gave loans back then, but the government does not even review these circumstances."

Since the launch of the National Countermeasure Committee, progressive measures such as the enactment of a special law for victim support and the promotion of amendments to the Specific Economic Crimes Act for heavier punishment of jeonse fraud criminals have emerged. Chairperson Ahn said, "However, many victims such as multi-family tenants, non-residential officetels, and trust fraud victims are excluded from government measures," urging, "We ask the government and the media to pay more attention to the plight of jeonse fraud victims."

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