Damage Occurs as Contract Deposit Is Mistakenly Paid for Membership
Refund Refused, Prompting Calls for Caution
There has been a case in which a person, having mistaken a membership recruitment advertisement for a 49-story private rental apartment in Jukrim-ri, Jochiwon-eup as a tenant recruitment notice, paid a contract deposit and was unable to get it refunded, prompting calls for caution.
This private rental apartment project is not recruiting members in the manner of a housing cooperative. Instead, an arbitrary organization is recruiting members or investors to raise business funds. This business model does not provide legal protection in the event of project delays or cancellation, which means that membership fees or investment funds (capital contributions) may be at risk of financial loss.
According to Sejong City, there have been ongoing civil complaints regarding contract termination and refusal to refund contract deposits related to the membership recruitment advertisement for the 49-story private rental apartment in Jukrim-ri, Jochiwon-eup, as of August 8.
The main issues raised in the complaints include: ▲whether permits and approvals are being processed, ▲the possibility of obtaining permits and approvals, ▲matters related to contract termination, and ▲inquiries about contract deposit refunds.
Currently, no applications for architectural review or housing construction project approval related to this business plan have been submitted. Only the performance-based design preliminary review, which must be completed prior to the architectural review application under the Fire Services Act, has been completed.
Lee Doohee, Director of Urban Housing, stated, "No applications for permits or approvals related to this business plan have been submitted to the city," and added, "Since the information promoted by the project operator does not constitute a finalized business plan, people should exercise caution."
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