The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced today (August 7) that it held three full meetings of the Jeonse Fraud Victim Support Committee in July, ultimately approving 609 cases as jeonse fraud victims.

Among them, 563 cases were newly filed applications (including re-applications), while 46 cases were additional recognitions confirmed through appeals.

This brings the cumulative number of victims to 40,278 since the enforcement of the Jeonse Fraud Victim Act in June 2023.

Regarding the scale of damage, cases ranging from >100 million KRW to 200 million KRW accounted for the largest share at 43.4%, followed by cases of 100 million KRW or less at 42.0%, and cases ranging from >200 million KRW to 300 million KRW at 12.3%. The vast majority (97.6%) involved deposit amounts of 300 million KRW or less.

By region, damages were heavily concentrated in the metropolitan area (60.7%), followed by Daejeon (11.1%) and Busan (10.1%).

By housing type, multi-family housing accounted for the most damage at 28.7%, followed by officetels at 20.8%, multi-household housing at 18.5%, and apartments at 13.3%.

By age group, young people under the age of 40 accounted for 75.9% of all victims.

The victim recognition rate among all reviewed cases stood at 59.6%.

On the other hand, 23.0% were rejected for failing to meet legal requirements, and 10.1% were excluded from support because full recovery of their deposits was possible through priority repayment funds or similar measures.

The Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) has acquired 10,256 homes to date through its jeonse fraud victim housing purchase program.

This program is implemented to ensure residential stability for victims, in which LH takes over the right of first refusal from victims, successfully bids for the properties through auctions or public sales, and then provides them to the victims as public rental housing.

Victims can convert the auction profits generated from lower successful bidding prices compared to normal purchase prices into deposits, allowing them to continue living in the damaged homes for up to 10 years.

Upon moving out, they can receive the auction profits to use for recovery from their damages.

LH stated that it is accelerating the purchase pace, averaging 752 homes per month from January to July this year.

As of July 31, there were 23,712 requests by jeonse fraud victims for preliminary consultations regarding the purchase of damaged homes.

Among them, 16,072 cases were judged as "purchase available" and their reviews were completed.

Tenants who have suffered from jeonse fraud can apply for a victim determination to the city or provincial office with jurisdiction over their residence. Once recognized as victims, they can receive guidance on various support measures through the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) Jeonse Damage Support Center.

(Photo: Yonhap News)