"Never Your Fault"…Judge's Consolation That Moved Jeonse Fraud Victims to Tears

Busan 18 Billion Won Jeonse Fraudster Sentenced to Heavy Prison Term
15 Years Imprisonment Exceeds Prosecutor's 13-Year Demand

A man in his 50s, who was indicted for a jeonse fraud amounting to around 18 billion KRW in the Busan area, received a heavy sentence in the first trial. Meanwhile, the court offered words of encouragement to the young victims of the fraud.

On the 23rd, the Busan District Court Eastern Branch Criminal Division 1 (Judge Park Ju-young) announced that it sentenced Mr. A, a man in his 50s charged with fraud, to 151 years in prison. From 2020 over three years, Mr. A is accused of running a rental business using a 'no-capital gap investment' method across a total of nine buildings including officetels in Suyeong-gu, Busan, receiving 18 billion KRW in jeonse deposits from 229 people and failing to return the money.

Jeonse Fraud

The lawsuit was led by a countermeasure committee formed by 210 of the victims, and while the initial estimated damage from the jeonse deposits was about 16 billion KRW, the amount increased as other victims who were pursuing separate lawsuits joined the case.

Previously, the prosecution sought a 13-year prison term for Mr. A, but the court imposed a harsher sentence of 15 years. The court pointed out, "The defendant did not take any substantial measures to restore the damages, and the victims repeatedly pleaded for severe punishment, suffering both financial losses and psychological distress from the crime, making a heavy sentence unavoidable."

Mr. A’s defense claimed that he was unable to return the deposits due to external factors such as changes in real estate policies and regulations and interest rate hikes, but the court did not accept this argument.

The court ruled, "Economic conditions such as the real estate market and interest rates are unpredictable and subject to change, so landlords must consider and prepare for the worst-case scenarios. The main responsibility in this case lies with the defendant, who engaged in rental business beyond his capacity to manage."

After the sentencing, Judge Park Ju-young addressed the victims, saying, "I have a few words to share," and read a prepared message titled 'Words of Encouragement.' In it, Judge Park stated, "As a generation that must bear infinite responsibility in this harsh world, I read your stories with a heavy heart over and over again. Please do not blame or reproach yourselves. It is the unjust social system that fails to properly control greed that created innocent victims like you, not any deficiency on your part that caused this harm."

Some of the victims reportedly broke down in tears while listening to Judge Park’s words.

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