World · East Asia & Pacific · 1 hr ago
11 Arrested in South Korean Rental Deposit and Loan Fraud Case
South Korean police say 11 people were booked over a 2.7 billion won fraud involving a multi-unit rental building in Sadang-dong, Seoul.
Two suspects, including the alleged ringleader and the building manager, have been arrested.
Police say the group created three fake apartments and forged rental contracts to obtain 368 million won in bank loans between March and July 2023.
They also allegedly misled 17 real tenants about the building’s legal and financial situation, taking 2.29 billion won in deposits.
The scheme exploited a difference in property records: a multi-unit building of this type has one title for the whole property, unlike a building with separate titles for each apartment.
Police say the alleged fraud took place from July 2021 to March 2024, and they are investigating whether others took part.
Police advise renters to check mortgages, the building’s value and the total deposits owed to tenants who have priority claims.
South Korean police arrested 11 people over alleged rental deposit and loan fraud involving a multi-family house in Seoul.
Two suspects, identified as the alleged ringleader and the building manager, were detained.
Police allege the group took about 2.7 billion won through fake rental loans and deposits from tenants.
The alleged scheme included fake contracts for three nonexistent rooms and deposits taken from 17 tenants.
Police said they would continue investigating whether others took part.
- Who
- Police arrested 11 people, including the alleged ringleader and building manager.
- What
- They are accused of obtaining rental loans using fake contracts and taking tenants’ deposits, totaling about 2.7 billion won.
- When
- The alleged crimes took place from July 2021 to March 2024.
- Where
- A multi-family house in Sadang-dong, Dongjak District, Seoul.
- Why
- The suspects allegedly exploited the difficulty of verifying individual rooms in this type of building through property records.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Police allege the group used a multi-family house in Sadang-dong to take about 2.7 billion won in loans and tenant deposits.
The alleged ringleader used three people as fake tenants and made false contracts for three nonexistent rooms, leading to 368 million won in rental loans.
Police investigated the landlord and building manager, then detained the manager and later the alleged ringleader.
Police announced that 11 people had been booked on suspicion of fraud and two had been detained.
- Suspects
- 11 people booked; two detained
- Alleged total
- About 2.7 billion won
- Tenant victims
- 17
- Tenant deposits
- 2.29 billion won
- Fake rental loans
- 368 million won
- Location
- Sadang-dong, Dongjak District, Seoul
1 source
What people are saying
When entering a rental contract for a multi-family house, you should check not only mortgages on the property register but also the building's value and the actual total deposits of senior tenants.