“Must Get at Least Billions of Won”… The Result for ‘Collusion Leader’ in Open Chat Room

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Judicial Police Service announced on August 3 that it has referred a resident, identified as A, to the prosecution on charges of violating the Certified Brokerage Act for leading house price collusion via a KakaoTalk open chat room.

A is accused of interfering with the business of certified real estate agents by repeatedly posting messages in a residents' open chat room between June and November of last year with the intent to exert undue influence on market prices.

Under the Certified Brokerage Act, anyone who interferes with the business of certified real estate agents by using notices or online communities to induce people not to commission brokerages below a certain price with the intent to unduly affect market prices is subject to up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million KRW.

A labeled real estate agencies that advertised properties at prices lower than what A advocated as "caged real estate agencies" and accused them of trying to drive down prices.

A posted messages in the open chat room such as, "It seems we are being swayed by the caged ones," and "We must not fall for the caged rhetoric."

In particular, A repeatedly claimed without reasonable basis that properties legitimately advertised upon the sellers' requests were fake listings.

A referred to those properties as items intended to be driven downward, portraying them as abnormal transactions.

The city urged citizens to report illegal real estate activities or damages through its smartphone app or the Seoul Metropolitan Government website.

Those who report or tip off criminal acts along with decisive evidence can receive a reward of up to 200 million KRW in accordance with the Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on the Protection and Support of Public Reporters.

Lee Chang-seok, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Judicial Police Service, explained that as apartment prices continue to rise due to housing supply shortages and instability in the jeonse market, collusion activities aimed at driving up house prices through online communities amid this atmosphere are continuously occurring.

He further emphasized that such house price collusion distorts real estate prices and threatens healthy real estate transaction order, adding that intensive investigations will continue moving forward.

(Photo: Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.