Unstable Stocks, Out-of-Reach Apartments: Young Investors Fall Into 'Land Investment' Trap

These days, the biggest interest among young people is undoubtedly financial investment. Amid this trend, many young people are reportedly showing interest in land investment, just as much as in stocks or apartments. Recently, the representative of a company that exploited this interest in land investment was investigated by the police on suspicion of fraud and has been referred to the prosecution. We investigated this case after receiving a tip-off.

1. "40% Return on Investment," Is It Real?
What is land investment? Literally, it means investing in land. The idea is to invest in land that currently looks landlocked and useless, under the premise that its value will rise if there are future development projects. Specifically, there are investments like caravan investments. The company buys seemingly useless landlocked plots, develops them, installs caravans or camping cars to run a campsite, and asks investors to fund a portion of the caravan purchase costs. In return, they promise to distribute the profits earned from operating the campsite like monthly rent.

[Consultant (2023 Voice Recording): We are currently pushing forward with plans to open (the campsite) in July next year. We expect the return on investment to be nearly 40%.]

[Person A: It costs 56 million won (per caravan), and they said they could pay 2.4 million won a month (in returns) for two years.]

There is also forestland investment. These land development companies own multiple plots of land and tell investors that if they invest, the company will clear the land, change its zoning from forestland to residential/commercial land (daeji), and then let them purchase the divided plots. Forestland, as you might see when passing by, is undeveloped land overgrown with bushes, where building construction is restricted. Therefore, clearing the vegetation, laying down roads, and installing infrastructure like electricity to make it suitable for building houses or commercial shops turns it into "residential/commercial land." They then tell investors to "buy the plots." By that time, the value is expected to have risen significantly, so investors can either resell the land at a premium, construct a building, or build their own home.

2. "Only Overgrown Bushes, Nothing Was There"
Believing these promises, around 30 to 40 investors, including a young man we interviewed, invested anywhere from a few million won to hundreds of millions of won per person. Of course, there were also middle-aged and elderly investors who invested their entire life savings. The investment sites recommended by this company were mainly located in parts of Chungcheongnam-do Province, such as Seosan, Taean, Dangjin, and Hongseong. These were the locations where caravan or forestland investments were proposed. The total amount of money gathered this way was around 3 billion won. However, the promised monthly rental income from the caravans and the zoning changes for the forestland have not materialized as of June 2026, three years after the contracts were signed. Consequently, the investors filed complaints with the police against the company's representative and several managers on charges of fraud. I also visited several of the problematic sites. In particular, at the caravan site, let alone any camping cars, even the overgrown bushes were left untended, leaving the area completely empty and desolate.

3. "Why Do Manual Labor?" The Representative's Astonishing Advice
The person who preached that land investment would become an extremely important investment in the future was the representative of a land investment company, who was quite well-known in the industry. He reportedly wrote books under his own name, held lecture tours, and gathered potential investors by personally taking them on site visits (imjang). Among the tips we received, there was a particularly memorable quote from one of his lectures. While urging people to invest in forestland around a reservoir and claiming it would be developed, he said, "Why are we doing manual labor? You should be investing in land with me right now."

[Company Representative: You can sell it to realize short-term capital gains, or you can build your own house. Why on earth are we still doing manual labor right now?]

However, as a result, the company appears to have gone bankrupt after 2024 and is currently undergoing rehabilitation proceedings. Yet, even after the company's collapse and until relatively recently, an online community run by the representative seemed to still be recruiting new investors to participate in site visits.

4. What the Representative Had to Say
When we questioned the representative, he explained to SBS that the situation occurred due to embezzlement by his business partner, so it cannot be called fraud. He claimed he is preparing to resume construction and had no intention of deceiving the investors. When reporting on these types of fraud cases, suspects and defendants typically deny the charges by claiming, "This is not fraud, but an investment failure," arguing they had no criminal intent. This case was no different. However, the business partner targeted by the representative stated, "I was cleared of the embezzlement charges, and I am also a victim." The explanations from both sides have turned into a game of passing the blame.

5. How Did They Fall Into the 'Land Investment' Swamp?
So, how does this story sound to you? Does it look like an obvious scam to anyone? Some have commented that it resembles the "fraudulent real estate planning" (gihoek budongsan) scams that were highly prevalent in the past. Comments on our article included, "I really don't understand," "How could anyone fall for this?" and "How can people be deceived by promises of making quick money?" So we asked the investors, "Why on earth did you make this investment?" While the obvious answer is money, we asked if there was any other reason. One investor's response was particularly memorable: they thought the return would be higher than stocks, and the barrier to entry would be lower than buying an apartment. Although I knew land investment existed, I did not know the details, but I could at least empathize with the investment anxiety felt by today's youth, who are all highly interested in financial management. The sweet talk of the representative we investigated can be seen as having successfully preyed on this anxiety among young people. While some say aggressive investing is sometimes necessary depending on individual disposition, it might be wise to take a step back and calmly evaluate any investment proposal that comes your way.

Reported by Kim Min-jun | Produced by Shin Hee-sook | Camera by Kim Nam-sung | Video by Ryu Ji-soo | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.