Rep. Hwang Jeonga Proposes 'Strengthened National Responsibility Package Act for Jeonse Fraud'

Prevention and Harsher Penalties for Jeonse Fraud in Multi-Family Housing, Including 'Rescue First, Recover Later' Policy

Jungah Hwang / Office of the Member of the National Assembly

Hwang Jeonga, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Yuseong-gu, Daejeon), announced on the 16th that she has proposed the “Jeonse Fraud National Responsibility Enhancement Package Act” to address blind spots in relief for victims of jeonse fraud in multi-family housing and similar cases, and to strengthen prevention and punishment.

The legislative package consists of five amendment bills: the Special Act on Support for Jeonse Fraud Victims and Housing Stability, the Certified Real Estate Agents Act, the Housing Lease Protection Act, the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act, and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

According to Hwang, in the case of multi-family housing where individual registration is not possible, tenants have different interests depending on their priority, but all tenants must agree to apply for preferential purchase rights or conversion to public rental housing. This makes it difficult for them to receive key support under the special law.

In particular, in the Daejeon area, more than 90% of jeonse fraud victimized properties are multi-family houses, making up the overwhelming majority and prompting strong calls for countermeasures.

Accordingly, the proposed amendment to the special law on jeonse fraud would allow public purchase requests by victims in multi-family housing to be made with the consent of a majority of tenants, and would require the state to guarantee the minimum deposit for lower-priority victims. The bill also includes a “relief first, recovery later” system for victims of jeonse fraud.

Additionally, the proposed amendments to the Certified Real Estate Agents Act, Housing Lease Protection Act, and Commercial Building Lease Protection Act for the prevention of jeonse fraud would grant real estate agents the legal authority to access information related to leasehold rights of properties and require them to explain this information to tenants at the time of contract.

The Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes would also be revised to allow for harsher penalties in cases where jeonse fraud results in multiple victims and damages exceeding 500 million won.

Hwang Jeonga stated, “Although multi-family housing is the type most at risk for jeonse fraud, victims still remain in a blind spot for relief. To help victims, including those in multi-family housing, quickly return to their daily lives, we will expand the range of relief measures along with the ‘relief first, recovery later’ approach.”

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