The cumulative number of individuals recognized as victims of lease fraud by the government has exceeded 30,000. In particular, those in their 20s and 30s account for 75% of the victims.
On the afternoon of the 26th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will report the results of a survey on the types and scale of lease fraud to the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly.
This report is conducted under the amended "Special Act on Support for Victims of Lease Fraud and Housing Stability" (hereinafter referred to as the lease fraud special law) that was revised last September, marking the second report since December of last year.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is determining victims of lease fraud to provide support for tenants affected by lease fraud through the lease fraud special law.
Support for victims of lease fraud includes assistance for securing housing stability through the purchase of damaged dwellings and provision of public rental housing, as well as financial support such as low-interest lease and purchase funding, tax support, special procedures for auctions and public sales, legal services, and livelihood support.
The report on the survey includes information gathered from the lease fraud victim support committee, investigations of reported damages, and cooperation with courts and relevant agencies, detailing the determination of lease fraud victims (total 30,340, as of the 31st of last month) and the current status of support along with future measures to strengthen prevention of lease fraud and additional system improvements.
According to the report, more than half of the victims live in the metropolitan area (60.3%), with significant proportions in Daejeon (11.7%) and Busan (10.9%). The top five regions account for 83.0% of all victims.
The proportion of those in their 30s (49.28%) is the highest, followed by those in their 20s (25.83%) and 40s (13.95%), with these top three age groups making up 89.07% of all victims. The majority of security deposits were below 300 million won (97.46%), with those between 100 million and 200 million won accounting for the largest proportion at 42.31%. Those with deposits below 100 million won followed at 41.88%.
The Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) will purchase damaged dwellings through auctions and public sales, providing up to 10 years of free residence using the auction profits (LH appraisal price minus winning bid). Victims who have secured their housing rights can continue living in their existing dwellings until the purchase is completed, and those who are evicted due to unauthorized contracts (trust fraud) are immediately supported with alternative public rental housing (10 years of free residence).
Since the implementation of the amended law, LH has completed the purchase of 952 dwellings out of 3,907 households that requested the purchase of their damaged dwellings (transfer of preemptive purchase rights). The monthly purchase of damaged dwellings has accelerated to 262 units as of last month, a significant increase of more than 40 times compared to the beginning of the law's implementation (6 units in December of last year).
Additionally, the report includes support details for new lease loans due to moving into new rental dwellings (814 cases, 1.094 billion won), low-interest refinancing support for existing lease loans, support for dwelling acquisition loans (1,492 cases, 3.417 billion won), exemption from acquisition tax, and property tax reductions for three years (3,915 cases, 450 million won), as well as auction and public sale support and legal assistance.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that it will continue to carry out surveys and support for victims of lease fraud under the lease fraud special law without disruption, while continuously improving any areas that need enhancement.