South Korean police data suggests more than $1 billion is lost to jeonse real-estate scams every year. Photo: Anthony WALLACE / AFP
The idea is that landlords get access to interest-free cash for speculation, and tenants get free housing, with the property as collateral. But the system is now rife with fraud -- police data suggests more than a billion dollars is lost to jeonse scams every year. "My dream of owning a home has vanished, and I've given up on dating, not to mention getting married or having a child," said Park, 37, who uses a pseudonym for his jeonse activism to protect his privacy.like Park -- around 70 percent of victims are in the 20s and 30s -- have been hit by jeonse fraud in recent years.And activists say authorities are not doing enough to help victims or punish fraudsters, who often manage to hide and keep the money.
But his apartment was sold out from under him and the landlord vanished with his deposit, leaving him saddled with debts.