Gyeonggi Province Urges Active Participation in Nation's First 'Safe Jeonse Project' to Prevent Jeonse Fraud

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gap-dong] Gyeonggi Province is urging active participation in the 'Gyeonggi Safe Jeonse Project' to prevent jeonse fraud, recommending young people to use licensed real estate offices participating in the 'Safe Jeonse Guardian' program.

Lee Gye-sam, Director of Urban Housing at Gyeonggi Province, held a press conference at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office on the 30th, stating, "While the recently passed jeonse fraud relief law has enabled measures such as rental housing support, this could impose significant financial burdens on the nation and cause serious economic hardship particularly for young people. We believe more effective countermeasures are necessary to prevent jeonse fraud and are promoting the 'Safe Jeonse Project,'" explaining the initiative's purpose.

The 'Gyeonggi Safe Jeonse Project' centers on the 'Safe Jeonse Gatekeeping Movement' through voluntary cooperation of licensed real estate agents and operates a 1,070-member 'Safe Jeonse Management Unit' jointly led by the government and private sector.

Governor Kim Dong-yeon announced at the Safe Jeonse Project launching ceremony in July, "The Gyeonggi Safe Jeonse Project is a social movement for structural jeonse fraud prevention through government-private cooperation," and stated, "We will do our best to create a reformed culture of safe jeonse contracts and a Gyeonggi Province free from jeonse fraud."

The 'Safe Jeonse Gatekeeping Movement' is a social initiative in which licensed real estate agents establish and implement preventative measures against jeonse fraud. Participating offices distribute 'Safe Jeonse Guardian' stickers so residents can verify and use them.

Participating licensed real estate offices must comply with the following: △prohibition on brokering problematic properties △clear guidance on rights relationships △provision of tenant checklists △clear drafting of jeonse special clauses △text notification service for information changes after contract signing.

As of October 15, more than 11,000 real estate agents, approximately 37% of the 30,000 licensed agents registered in Gyeonggi Province, are participating in the 'Safe Jeonse Gatekeeping Movement.' Gyeonggi Province aims for 50% participation by year-end and plans to expand participation through continuous promotion and support.

Through advancing the Safe Jeonse Project, the province plans to mark verified participating real estate agents on online real estate platforms and add a 'Jeonse Fraud Vulnerability Zone Risk Alert' feature. This aims to help tenants conduct safe jeonse transactions.

Additionally, the province plans to establish a review system allowing tenants to leave feedback based on their experience with real estate offices, reflecting this feedback and providing proper incentives to participating businesses to purify the transaction environment.

Lee Gye-sam, Director of Urban Housing, stated, "The Gyeonggi Safe Jeonse Project is a policy reflecting voluntary social movement to prevent jeonse fraud, and we will continue making efforts to further activate it," and urged, "Particularly, tenants including young people should ensure they check three things for safe jeonse contracts: first, look for the Safe Jeonse Guardian mark; second, verify the tenant checklist; and third, confirm the special clauses in the contract."

Meanwhile, the combined total of jeonse guarantee accidents reported to the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) and damage amounts registered at the Jeonse Fraud Relief Center through the end of September this year reached 13.79 trillion won nationwide. Of this, Gyeonggi Province accounts for 4.23 trillion won, representing 30.7% of the national total.

In response, the province has pursued comprehensive countermeasures encompassing jeonse fraud support and prevention, ranging from emergency living expense support for jeonse fraud victims to online real estate education for youth.

On October 23, the province recommended ten improvements to the central government, including amendments to the 'Housing Lease Protection Act' for tenant protection and strengthened penalties for jeonse fraud criminals. Through these efforts, the province proposes 'mandatory registration of tenant rights registration' to address the information asymmetry issue, a major cause of jeonse fraud damage, and emphasizes the need for integrated information provision of clear property information.