Over 200 officetel tenants fall victim to jeonse fraud

People hold a candlelight vigil in front of the subway station in Michuhol District, Incheon, late Tuesday to commemorate the victims of jeonse fraud who committed suicide. [YONHAP]

Some 250 officetel tenants in the Dongtan neighborhood of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, have found themselves victim of another jeonse fraud.

One realtor, whose license has been suspended, and his wife are suspected to have played a key role in the scheme.

Jeonse, or long-term housing rent, fraud has become a major controversial issue lately, with even President Yoon Suk Yeol giving out firm warnings against such frauds after three victims, all in their 20s and 30s, committed suicide.

One of the victims posted on an anonymous forum that he was looking for a temporary place to stay due to his workplace moving to the Dongtan area.

The victim said he signed a one-year jeonse contract with an officetel through Dongtan Bank Real Estate Agency in March 2022.

Officetels are buildings used for both commercial and residential purposes in Korea.

According to the post, a man surnamed Lee signed the contract as the proxy of the landlord Park. Thinking it was odd, the person called the landlord, who confirmed that Lee was her proxy.

However, after moving out of the officetel, the person claimed that the landlord wouldn’t return the rent deposit for two months. The landlord claimed that she had not been able to find a new tenant.

It turns out Park and her husband Chang own 250 officetels, while Lee and his wife Kim were the ones actually managing the officetels that are under Park and Chang’s name.

According to the post, the landlord had sent out text messages advising the tenants to transfer the ownership of the officetel to their own names, as she and her husband were expecting to default on their taxes starting June.

“Even if we transfer ownership, due to the drop in the officetel value and the various taxes, I was told that tenants would likely face losses between 20 to 50 million won,” the person wrote in the posting.

The writer also claimed that the proxy, Lee, was a realtor, who owned the real estate agency that introduced them to the officetel.

However, Lee's license had been suspended at the time that the contract was signed.

“The Dongtan Bank Real Estate Agency’s CEO Lee has claimed that he sold the real estate agency to another person and thus is taking no responsibility,” the post read.

However, the new owner of the real estate agency turned out to be his wife.

The post also said that the landlord, Park, has not been not picking up calls from tenants and only sent them text messages telling them to transfer the ownership of the officetel.

The Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station is currently investigating the case.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]