Compensation available for real estate fraud victims lacking

[Anchor]

Such property land distribution fraud is even more difficult to receive compensation for than jeonse fraud.

Victims must either recover money directly from the construction company or go through the real estate compensation system, but there are criticisms that the recovery efforts are grossly insufficient.

Next, we have a report from reporter Lee Soo-min.

[Report]

The representative of the construction company, Mr. Hong, bought land and entered into distribution contracts using the names of acquaintances.

He promised to pay 25 million won, claiming he needed other names for the business, and received business registration certificates and bank accounts, along with a 'performance agreement' stating they would not be involved in the profits.

Although the so-called 'nominal president' transferred their names for the promise of large sums of money, they claim they had no knowledge of the villa construction.

[Mr. B/Name lender for land contract/Voice Altered: "I heard they went to a real estate office and wrote a contract. They did it among themselves. They probably just took my seal and went to do it."]

There were seven people who lent their names to Mr. Hong, and as he went bankrupt, they were left with a huge debt, which they claim they cannot repay.

[Mr. B/Name lender for land contract/Voice Altered: "They applied for a loan in my name, and when you combine the debts, it's 800 million won. There are at least ten (collection notices) a week."]

Ultimately, the victims are in a situation where they must rely on the 'real estate compensation' system, which supports damages caused by the intentional or negligent actions of certified real estate agents.

The compensation amount for real estate is around 200 million to 400 million won, which must be shared among all the victims.

In this case, if each individual lost about 150 million won in deposit, and there are about ten victims for one villa, this means each person can only receive around ten million won.

[Lee Soo-won/Chairman of the Compensation Committee of the Korea Association of Certified Real Estate Agents: "(The compensation fund) is operated with pure compensation fees paid by members. It is burdensome to increase the compensation fund."]

Experts point out that it is difficult for the general public to detect such property land distribution fraud.

As a result, while the scope of what the real estate agents are obligated to explain to clients is being expanded, it is ultimately advised that the contracting parties carefully examine not only the explanations from the agents but also the credibility of the distribution companies.

This is KBS News, Lee Soo-min.