YouTuber Who Claimed to Be a Victim of Jeonse Fraud Sparks Controversy Over 'Passing the Bomb' to Other Tenants

Tenant Contract Falls Through, Then House Sold
"Followed Real Estate Agent's Advice... Reflecting on It"

YouTuber 'Dalssi,' who has 1.17 million subscribers, has been embroiled in controversy over allegedly engaging in a jeonse fraud "hot potato" scheme. There are suspicions that Dalssi was trying to pass the problematic house on to another tenant.

"After checking the landlord's national tax delinquency records, the new tenant left" statement raises suspicions of 'jeonse fraud hot potato' scheme

YouTuber Dalssi. [Image source=YouTube capture]

On the 22nd, YouTuber Dalssi confessed on her YouTube channel that she had been a victim of jeonse fraud. She explained that since there was no way to get her deposit back from the landlord, she chose to find a tenant herself. Dalssi said, "The moment a prospective tenant appeared, I was in agony every second until the day we signed the contract, fearing they might change their mind." She added, "Nowadays, it is mandatory to check the landlord's national tax delinquency records. After the tenant checked these records, they canceled the contract and left." Dalssi further stated, "My only hope, my bluebird, left," and explained that she eventually purchased the house through a bank loan. The video has since been deleted.

However, netizens who watched the video pointed out that Dalssi attempted a 'jeonse fraud hot potato' scheme. The issue lies in her trying to pass the house to someone else despite knowing she would not receive the deposit.

"Found a new tenant following advice from a licensed real estate agent and others... Now selling the house based on lawyer's advice"

In response to criticism, Dalssi explained through her YouTube community, "At first, I thought finding a new tenant as advised by the landlord and the licensed real estate agent was the only solution." She continued, "So I tried to find the next tenant myself and honestly explained the entire situation to the prospective tenant through the real estate agent, despite my lack of experience." She added, "I even told them that the market price was lower than the collateral value including the deposit and that the deposit insurance was not subscribed." Dalssi emphasized, "If this had been a 'hot potato' scheme as some suggested, I would have hidden the unfavorable parts of the contract."

She went on, "Later, I thought I should get advice from a lawyer, so I explained the situation to my cousin who is a lawyer. He said that while finding a new tenant now wouldn't be legally problematic, it was inappropriate and that transferring the title would minimize losses, so I followed his advice." Dalssi explained, "Therefore, I accepted the title transfer, bearing financial losses such as the jeonse deposit loan and acquisition tax." She added, "At the time, I was just following what the real estate agent said without much knowledge, but fortunately, I was able to get advice from a nearby lawyer, which helped me avoid creating other innocent victims and resolve the damage on my own." She concluded, "I will strive to prevent such incidents from recurring."

"Inconsistent explanations" Despite clarifications, netizens continue criticism... Government intensifies jeonse fraud prevention efforts

Despite these explanations, netizens criticized, saying things like, "The real estate agent said finding another tenant was the best option? That can't be true," "To sum up, she tried to pass the 'hot potato' but failed and is blaming the real estate agent, so it's not her fault," "I've never heard someone call themselves a 'good-faith victim' before," "Even if it was an attempt, it almost ruined other people's lives," and "In the video, she said checking the landlord's delinquency records was mandatory and that the prospective tenant left because of that, but in the explanation, she says she made a decision to avoid creating other good-faith victims, which is inconsistent."

Meanwhile, as jeonse fraud damages continue long-term, a vicious cycle persists. The government is publicly disclosing the names, ages, addresses, deposit return debts, and default periods of landlords who habitually fail to return deposits to prevent jeonse fraud. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport regularly holds the Landlord Information Disclosure Review Committee to increase the disclosure of malicious landlords and is considering retroactively applying the disclosure to landlords who embezzled jeonse deposits before the law was enacted.