"Liability Applies Even for Just Drafting False Contracts"... Supreme Court Recognizes Real Estate Agent's Liability in Loan Fraud

The Supreme Court has ruled that a real estate agent who drafts a false jeonse (lump-sum housing lease) contract without actual brokerage can also be held liable for damages in a loan fraud scheme.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Seo Kyung-hwan) overturned the lower court's ruling, which had ruled in favor of the defendant, in a loan lawsuit filed by lender company A against real estate agent B, and sent the case back to the Ulsan District Court.

In 2020, a group led by an individual named C—who recruited fake tenants, forged jeonse contracts, and embezzled loans secured by jeonse deposits from lender company A and others—received finalized guilty verdicts for fraud.

Subsequently, lender company A filed a lawsuit not only against C, but also against real estate agent B, who had drafted the jeonse contract.

While the first instance court recognized the liability of C, the perpetrator of the fraud, it dismissed company A's claim regarding the real estate agent on the grounds that B likely did not know about the crime. The second instance court reached the same conclusion, but the Supreme Court's judgment was different.

The Supreme Court pointed out, "Under the Certified Broker Agents Act, a licensed real estate agent must draft and issue a transaction contract only when a brokerage is completed, and drafting and issuing a contract without brokerage makes it entirely foreseeable that a third party might believe it to be genuine and engage in a transaction."

The court determined that because B drafted the jeonse contract without engaging in brokerage activities, solely trusting C's word, and without meeting the lessor and lessee, B violated the duty of care under the Certified Broker Agents Act, thereby causing company A losses equivalent to the loan amount.

The Supreme Court added, "This can be evaluated as an aiding and abetting act that facilitated the loan-defraud crime committed by C and others."

However, considering the circumstances suggesting that the real estate agent was also deceived by the fraud ring, the court ordered a re-trial to determine the specific scope of damages.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.