SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s National Assembly is advancing legislation to address the widespread rental fraud scheme known as “jeonse” scams, with the plight of foreign victims highlighting the complexities of the country’s unique housing market and the challenges of providing equitable support. On August 20, amendments to the Special Act on Jeonse [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — A total of 4,481 people have fallen victim to home rental scams this year, with their combined financial damage reaching 510.5 billion won (US$377.3 million), police data showed Monday. Police apprehended 2,582 suspects of so-called jeonse scams but were only able to retrieve 22.6 percent, or 115.3 billion won, [...]
SEOUL, May 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The National Assembly on Thursday passed a special bill aimed at assisting victims of a series of home rental scams, including offering them interest-free and low-interest loans. The revision was approved in a 243-5 vote with 24 abstentions, as rival parties agreed to provide support measures for the victims [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — A maximum of 15-year imprisonment will be sought for those convicted of house rental scams, the government said Thursday, as part of efforts to crack down on a growing number of fraud crimes against tenants. The decision was made during a government meeting presided over by Finance Minister Choo [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The outstanding amount of “jeonse” home rental loans among young people rose sharply this year, a lawmaker said Monday. South Koreans in their 20s and 30s hold 96.36 trillion won (US$73.3 billion) in debt issued to pay for deposit-based rental homes, said Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the Democratic Party, [...]
SEOUL, July 12 (Korea Bizwire) — The value of unreturned deposits for “jeonse” home rentals is increasing year after year, hitting an all-time high in the first half of this year, data showed Monday. Under South Korea’s decades-old jeonse system, tenants pay a large lump-sum deposit, known as key money, to the landlord, which [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Major banks in South Korea saw their “jeonse” home rental loans increase at a record pace this year amid soaring jeonse rates, industry data showed Thursday. Outstanding jeonse loans extended by the country’s five major lenders — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup — came to 103.3 [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Those who pay monthly rent for housing are less likely to get married than those who own their own home, a recent study revealed. The Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) released a report Wednesday that analyzed the correlation between factors related to housing and marriage or birth based on [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea on Tuesday unveiled an unprecedented plan to supply more than 130,000 homes in Seoul and adjacent areas over the next eight years in its latest struggle to contain a further rise in housing prices, which have even dragged down the Moon Jae-in administration’s approval ratings. But the [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — “Jeonse” (long-term deposit rental system) versus “weolse” (monthly rent). That has emerged as the hottest topic in local political circles since new laws intended to protect tenants from landlords and excessive rent increases went into effect at the end of July. Jeonse refers to a unique Korean system in [...]