Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok: "Jeonse Fraud is a Malicious Serious Crime... Must be Punished with the Maximum Legal Sentence"

Prosecutor General-led 'Strict Response to Jeonse Fraud Frontline Agency Heads Meeting'

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok regarded "jeonse fraud" as a heinous serious crime and ordered, "Please ensure that all accomplices receive the maximum legal punishment."

On the 2nd, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office held a "Frontline Heads of Agencies Meeting for Strict Response to Jeonse Fraud" chaired by Prosecutor General Lee, attended by heads of seven major prosecutors' offices where investigations and trials of major jeonse fraud cases are concentrated, including Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, Incheon District Prosecutors' Office, Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, and Busan District Prosecutors' Office.

The prosecution decided to strictly punish jeonse fraud crimes by ▲ imposing the maximum legal sentence and enhanced sentencing ▲ actively applying charges of criminal organization to thoroughly root out accomplices ▲ relentlessly tracking hidden assets to confiscate and recover criminal proceeds and actively support victim restitution.

The day before, the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and National Police Agency held a joint briefing at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 1st, announcing, "We will eradicate jeonse fraud and support thorough victim restitution."

The prosecution has designated 71 dedicated prosecutors for jeonse fraud cases across 54 prosecutors' offices to handle indictments and trials. The main perpetrator of the "Gyeonggi Gwangju Villa Jeonse Fraud Case," involving 110 victims and damages of 12.3 billion KRW, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the first trial. The main perpetrator of the "Three Mothers Jeonse Fraud Case," with 355 victims and damages amounting to 79.5 billion KRW, received a 10-year prison sentence in the first trial for some of the criminal charges, while trials for the remaining charges are ongoing.

The prosecution also applied charges of criminal organization to related parties in cases such as the Incheon Michuhol-gu Construction King case, Gwangju Villa King case, and the real estate agency office cases across the metropolitan area, referring them to trial.

The prosecution regards jeonse fraud as a malicious crime threatening the housing stability of ordinary citizens and youth, and plans to concentrate intergovernmental capabilities to indefinitely crack down on jeonse fraud crimes and thoroughly root out all accomplices involved in any form, dedicating full efforts to eradicating jeonse fraud.