Rival parties agree on prioritizing support measures for ‘jeonse’ scam victims

Politics

Rival parties agreed Friday to come up with realistic support measures for victims of a series of home rental scams with the goal of passing a special bill through the National Assembly next week.

This month’s last plenary session is scheduled for next Thursday.

Rep. Park Dae-chul, chief policymaker of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), Rep. Kim Min-seok, chief policymaker of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), and Rep. Kim Yong-jin, chief policymaker of the minor opposition Justice Party, told reporters after their talks on support measures for the victimized tenants of the country’s unique rental system, called “jeonse.”

The measures agreed in Friday’s meeting include enacting a special bill that gives victims the priority right to purchase the affected homes that end up being put up for auction, as well as providing them with low-interest loans.

“We are ready to discuss the issue with the opposition with an open mind,” Park said during the meeting.

The parties, however, failed to reach a compromise on the DP’s proposal to publicly purchase the housing units involved in the scams.

The PPP and the government have rejected the DP’s proposal, saying it would only benefit preferred creditors, including financial institutions such as banks, and would impose an undue financial burden on the state.

“We should come up with a policy that directly relieves the damage,” Rep. Kim said

In recent months, three cash-strapped tenants have taken their own lives in the city of Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, in the wake of a massive home rental scam, sending the government scrambling to find remedies.

Under the scam, the mastermind, surnamed Nam, rented highly collateralized homes to victims for deposits worth tens of millions of won. The homes ended up being put up for auction as Nam failed to repay debts to financial institutions, leading to victims facing eviction without getting their deposits back.

Similar rental scams have been reported elsewhere.

Under jeonse, tenants give their landlord a large upfront deposit worth as much as 90 percent of the home’s value instead of paying monthly rent. Then, the landlord earns interest off the deposit and returns the deposit at the end of the lease.

Rep. Park Dae-chul, chief policymaker of the ruling People Power Party (C), Rep. Kim Min-seok, chief policymaker of the main opposition Democratic Party (L), and Rep. Kim Yong-jin, chief policymaker of the minor opposition Justice Party, talk during a meeting at the National Assembly on April 21, 2023.

Source: Yonhap News Agency