855 More Jeonse Fraud Victims Recognized... 3,360 Affected Homes Purchased This Year

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on May 6 that the Jeonse Fraud Damage Support Committee had finalized the designation of around 800 cases as victims of jeonse fraud last month.

According to the ministry, the committee held three plenary meetings last month to review a total of 2,047 applications for jeonse fraud victim status, and among these, 855 cases were ultimately approved as victims of jeonse fraud or similar circumstances.

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Of the 855 approved cases, 789 were new applications, while 66 were objections to previous decisions. These cases were determined to be victims of jeonse fraud after additional confirmation that they met the necessary requirements.

On the other hand, out of 1,192 cases, 748 were rejected for failing to meet the criteria. In 250 cases, full deposit refunds were possible through guarantee insurance or the highest-priority repayment, so they were excluded from the program. Of the 194 cases for which objections had been submitted, all were dismissed as they still failed to meet the criteria.

To date, the committee has made a total of 38,503 final decisions designating individuals as victims of jeonse fraud or similar cases. There have also been 1,167 decisions to request urgent cooperation for foreclosure suspension. Cumulatively, a total of 63,568 cases have received support in housing, financial, and legal procedures.

The number of jeonse fraud-affected properties purchased by Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) is also increasing each year. In 2024, only 90 units were purchased during the entire year, but this sharply rose to 977 units in the first half of last year and 3,930 units in the second half. From January to April of this year, 3,360 units were purchased, surpassing the total for the second half of last year.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH are currently operating a fast-track system that sets deadlines for each stage of the acquisition process and holds regular purchase review meetings to speed up the acquisition of affected properties. They also plan to continue coordinating with local courts regarding auction proceedings to further support residential stability.

Financial support is also being implemented to ease the burden of jeonse loan repayment for victims of jeonse fraud. If it becomes difficult to repay a jeonse loan due to fraud, the guarantee institution will first subrogate the repayment for the guaranteed portion, and the victim can then repay the amount in interest-free installments over up to 20 years.

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