Yangcheon District Proposes Six On-Site Tailored Policy Alternatives for Jeonse Fraud Victim Housing to Ministry of Land and Seoul City

Yangcheon District in Seoul (District Mayor Lee Gijae) announced on March 13 that it had conducted the city’s first “Jeonse Fraud Victim Housing Survey,” and, based on the findings, proposed six tailored on-site policy alternatives to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Seoul Metropolitan Government on March 9.

Scene of an on-site investigation of a 'Jeonse Fraud Victim House'. Provided by Yangcheon-gu.

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From January 30 to February 28, the district carried out both online surveys and on-site inspections targeting 346 victims of jeonse fraud within its jurisdiction. The results showed that a significant number of buildings effectively lacked a responsible management entity due to the disappearance of landlords, leading to serious levels of “secondary damages.”

Approximately 80% of respondents said they were still living in the victimized housing as their deposits had not been returned. More than 60% reported difficulties with safety management and facility maintenance. The main types of damage included leakage in exterior walls, rooftops, and basements; problems with water and sewage pipes; elevator outages; electricity and water cut-offs; and increased burdens of management fees. In some buildings, additional safety issues were identified, such as fire protection facilities not being inspected and malfunctioning closed-circuit (CC) TV systems left unrepaired.

The victims cited the introduction of public management and support for maintenance costs as the most urgent priorities. In response, the district prepared six alternatives: establishing detailed guidelines for public delegated management under the special law; creating a special government-wide budget for maintenance; applying an exception to the holding period for capital gains tax in cases of involuntary acquisition; simplifying the acquisition process by omitting auction and bidding procedures; deferring and regularizing penalties for illegal construction; and building a data system for ongoing management of victim housing. The proposal also includes setting up a delegated management system through public agencies such as SH Corporation and LH Corporation.

Lee Gijae, Mayor of Yangcheon District, stated, “It is significant that we have objectively confirmed the reality of secondary damages with data and developed practical policy alternatives based on voices from the field. I hope the solutions proposed by Yangcheon District will be reflected in central and Seoul city policy so that victims can quickly regain housing stability.”

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