[Anchor]
An apartment development company has filed a criminal complaint with the police against a current senior prosecutor for fraud, claiming they failed to properly receive a deposit and rent after leasing a home.
However, the senior prosecutor's side maintains that they are actually the ones owed money. Reporter Lee Hyun-jung investigated how this situation unfolded.
[Reporter]
This is an apartment complex in Jeju where international schools are clustered.
In 2024, the development company signed a one-year lease agreement for a 130-square-meter unit with Prosecutor A, who was affiliated with the Jeju District Prosecutors' Office.
The deposit was 20 million won, and the annual rent was 38 million won.
However, the company stated that before moving in, they received a request to pay only the annual rent first and defer the deposit.
[Former Executive of the Development Company: "I just heard that their funds were temporarily mismatched. But since their social standing was clear, I figured they wouldn't make a mistake and agreed."]
Yet, the deposit was reportedly never paid by the expiration of the lease.
The following year, a new contract under the name of the husband, B, was delivered.
It stated that they would live there for another year at an annual rent of 32 million won, but no rent was paid.
When the development company demanded the termination of the contract and eviction late last year, Prosecutor A's side filed a police complaint against company employees on charges including trespassing and stalking.
[Manager at the Development Company: "I went to see the prosecutor, called them, and said, 'The rent is not being paid like this. Shouldn't you pay it, or else move out?' But they just kept saying, 'I am not a party to the contract.'"]
Although the development company filed a petition with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the Seoul-area district prosecutors' office where Prosecutor A currently serves as a senior prosecutor closed the matter as is, citing that the two sides were engaged in a civil dispute.
Prosecutor A's family was still living in the apartment when the reporting team visited.
Prosecutor A claimed, "All contracts were handled by my husband, so I do not know the details," adding, "I am being threatened simply because I am a prosecutor."
The prosecutor explained that her husband, B, had purchased another unit in the same complex in 2022, but lost his down payment after failing to pay some of the intermediate installments, and that they are currently in a dispute to recover that money.
She stated that the overdue rent and interest on the deposit would be paid if they lose in court.
[Prosecutor A: "We intend to comply with the court ruling; it is not that we are refusing to pay at all. We are asserting a legal claim of 'set-off' recognized by the law."]
Later during the reporting process, Prosecutor A's side stated that, separate from the lawsuit for the return of the down payment, they would pay the overdue rent.
Earlier this month, the development company filed a criminal complaint against Prosecutor A and her husband for fraud.
(Video Editing: Park Na-young, Design: Park Taeyoung, VJ: Kim Jun-ho)
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