58 Real Estate Agents and Employees Referred to Prosecution
Two Other Name Holders Also Detained
Those involved in the so-called 'Villa King' rental fraud case, who purchased about 1,500 houses in the Seoul metropolitan area and died without returning the jeonse deposits, have been handed over to the prosecution.
The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Metropolitan Investigation Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 21st that they have sent two employees who were accomplices of the deceased Villa King Kim and 56 real estate agents to the prosecution on charges of fraud and violation of the Real Estate Brokerage Act.
Kim was a figure who purchased 1,500 houses in the metropolitan area since 2020 and died last October. The police continued their investigation of accomplices identified through analysis of seized items and victim testimonies.
Through this, the police identified and sent 56 real estate agents who brokered houses in the form of no-capital gap investment to Kim and shared rebates. Three main perpetrators, who were judged to have been heavily involved, including brokering the jeonse contract of a victim in their 30s who died in May last year, were arrested. Additionally, among the two employees of Kim who helped the crime knowing that Kim had no intention of returning the jeonse deposits and only aimed to receive rebates, one was arrested and sent to prosecution in May.
Shortly after Kim's death, suspicions arose that there was a behind-the-scenes group, but the police concluded that Kim led the crime after analyzing about 430,000 message records from Kim's mobile phone, transaction details of 228 accounts, and testimonies of 566 related persons. Kim searched for properties and hired two employees to continue the crime. They followed Kim's instructions, and no decision-maker beyond Kim was identified. Furthermore, the rebates generated from the rental fraud went into Kim's personal or corporate accounts and were used by Kim himself. The number of victims caused by Kim was confirmed to be 1,244, with damages amounting to about 231.2 billion KRW.
Moreover, the police discovered two additional third-party name holders who purchased Kim's houses and engaged in no-capital gap investment, and they were also arrested and sent to prosecution on the same charges. In March, during the investigation of Kim's employees, the police detected circumstances indicating that the employees introduced houses to other name holders, expanding the investigation. The number of victims caused by these individuals was 424, with damages estimated at 96.8 billion KRW. Including these victims, the total number of victims involved or led by Kim in the rental fraud reaches 1,668, with damages amounting to about 328 billion KRW.
A police official said, "Although we are concluding the largest-ever Villa King case, additional damage reports are expected as the rental contract periods of the newly discovered name holders expire after next month," adding, "We will continue the investigation into the accomplices."
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