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| ▲ This image shows a notice promoting a jeonse deal, pasted on the storefront window of a real estate office. (Yonhap) |
home rental scams-crackdown
Gov't pledges 'indefinite' crackdown on home rental scams
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- The government on Wednesday pledged all-out efforts to sternly crack down on the growing home rental scams in an indefinite manner.
The announcement was made jointly by the justice and land ministries and the national police agency as the government's special nationwide crackdown on rental frauds, which commenced in July, is set to come to an end at the year-end.
A recent police report indicated that nearly 4,500 people have fallen victim to home rental scams this year, with the combined financial damage reaching 510.5 billion won (US$376 million).
The cases involve South Korea's decades-old jeonse system where tenants transfer a large lump-sum deposit, known as key money, to landlords, which is then returned at the end of the rental agreement. In jeonse frauds, most victims end up being swindled of their key money.
"The government will muster pan-government resources to conduct strict crackdowns on jeonse frauds in an indefinite manner," the ministries' joint statement said.
National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun labeled the growing jeonse frauds as "a national issue," pledging efforts to track down and confiscate the criminal proceeds of scammers.
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