From 15 Years to 7 Years: The Soft Punishments in Jeonse Fraud Cases
As public outrage grows over lenient sentences in major *jeonse* fraud cases, victims are expressing frustration at what they see as inadequate legal consequences for offenders. As public outrage grows over lenient sentences in major *jeonse* fraud cases, victims are expressing frustration at what they see as inadequate legal consequences for offenders. In this post, we discuss the recent case of the so-called “Incheon Construction King,” whose prison sentence for *jeonse* fraud was halved from 15 to 7 years, sparking widespread anger. The Sentence Reduction: 15 Years → 7 Years The "Incheon Construction King," who defrauded approximately 191 tenants of around 14.8 billion KRW in *jeonse* deposits, had his prison sentence reduced from 15 to 7 years. This is the same landlord whose actions led to the tragic suicides of four young victims. The court based its decision on the finding that only contracts made after the landlord’s financial troubles began (amounting to 6.8 billion ...