Death Ahead of 'Contract Expiration' Next Month
Comforting Other Victims in Group Chat with "Let's Do Our Best"
A victim who was unable to recover their jeonse deposit was found dead in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. This is the fourth death this year related to jeonse fraud.
A villa in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, where Mr. Lee, a victim of jeonse fraud, resided. / Photo by Seoyul Hwang chestnut@
On the 11th, the Yangcheon Police Station in Seoul announced that a woman in her 30s, Lee Mo, was found dead in a villa in Yangcheon-gu on the 8th and is currently under investigation.
No suicide note or signs of extreme self-harm were found at the scene. Accordingly, the police have reportedly requested an autopsy from the National Forensic Service to determine the exact cause of death.
According to the police, Lee had signed a jeonse contract with Kim Mo, a man in his 40s known as the "Villa King," who owned about 1,000 houses in the Gangseo-gu area of Seoul but did not return the deposits before his death. Lee had signed a lease for the villa with a jeonse deposit of 300 million won, of which approximately 240 million won was reportedly a loan. The contract was signed in June 2021 and was due to expire the following month. Kim is known to have owned 4 out of 11 units in the building. It was also confirmed that Kim had overdue comprehensive real estate taxes amounting to 6.3 billion won as of September 2022.
A villa in Mokdong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, where Mr. Lee, a victim of jeonse fraud, resided. / Photo by Hwang Seoyul chestnut@
According to tenants living in the same villa, Lee was reportedly under severe stress after recently learning about the jeonse fraud.
A victim of jeonse fraud living in the building, identified as A, said, "I joined a group chat formed by people who were victims of jeonse fraud by Villa King Kim around January this year," adding, "Everyone was actively trying to recover their losses together." A also said that they realized they had been a victim of jeonse fraud last year after learning that their insurance application had been rejected.
The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is investigating Kim’s death, which occurred last October. It is known that many who had contracts with Kim were financially distressed and unable to proceed with subrogation repayment procedures.
Meanwhile, the Citizens’ Countermeasure Committee for Resolving Jeonse Fraud and Empty Jeonse held a rally in front of the National Assembly this afternoon, urging the enactment of a special law. They opposed the special jeonse fraud law proposed by the government and ruling party and demanded a special law that includes pre-compensation, post-recovery measures, and deposit relief plans. A victim of jeonse fraud in a villa in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, who attended the press conference, said, "The fourth victim has appeared again," and urged, "The government should actively step in for victims who cannot solve the problem alone."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
