<Anchor>
Another victim of a charter scam passed away in Incheon
today (17th). In the face of such a sad incident, I will tell you the news while thinking about how to prevent such tragedies from happening again. The victims are now appealing for the government to take extraordinary measures.

Reporter Lee Taekwon contributed to this report.

<Itaekwon>
A bunch of white chrysanthemum flowers was placed in front of the
front door of the apartment.

At about 1:20 a.m. today, Miss A, a woman in her 30s, was found unconscious in her home.

He was rushed to the hospital, but his breathing and pulse had stopped.

Mr. A was one of the victims of the 12.5 billion won fraud of the so-called "building king" Nam Mo, who was put on trial last month.

On the front door, there is a notice that the house is a victim of charter fraud and a notice that it will be cut off due to non-payment of water bills.

[Han Sang-yong/Neighbour: You used to communicate like this often in the communication room, it's a pity that a young person has passed away like this.]

Mr. A signed a contract for a deposit of 72 million won in 2019, and two years later, he renewed the contract at the request of the landlord and increased the deposit to 90 million won.

However, due to a charter scam, the entire 60 units of the apartment were put up for auction in June last year.

Under the Housing Lease Protection Act, the apartment, which was completed in 2017, can only get the priority reimbursement back if the deposit is less than 80 million won, so Mr. A could not get a penny back on the deposit.

The victims appealed for government action to give the victims priority of winning bids, along with the suspension of the auction.

[Kim Byung-ryul/Vice Chairman of the Charter Fraud Damage Prevention Committee: During that time of policy making, we have another successful bidder. Then we have to go out again. Nothing has changed, only people keep coming out.]

Amid voices that the charter scam is not the fault of the victims, a memorial service for the victims will be held tomorrow with the inaugural press conference of the National Task Force.

(Video Interview: Lim Dong-guk, Video Editor: Lee So-young, CG: Park Chun-woong)

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<Anchor>
The Ministry of
Land and Infrastructure announced measures to prevent charter fraud and provide damage assistance in February. But the problem is that the blind spots are big.

Reporter Jung Ban-seok covered why victims still suffer despite government measures.

<Reporter>

Small renters with a charter deposit of less than a certain amount may be partially protected even if their home goes to auction.

In February, the government raised the threshold and reimbursement amount for small tenants, and tenants with a deposit of 165 million won in Seoul and 85 million won or less in metropolitan areas will be eligible for priority reimbursement.

However, if the landlord raised the security deposit and exceeded the target threshold, he would be driven into the street for less than a penny.

[Victim of charter fraud: As the market price goes up, the rent is bound to go up, which doesn't apply to the law, all 5 tenants here don't get any.]

Mr. A, who died today (17th), also exceeded the target standard by raising the deposit to 90 million won and did not receive the highest priority reimbursement.

[Kim Tae-keun/Tenant 114 Steering Committee Chairman (Lawyer): The current court precedent does not keep up with the de facto rate of inflation. The government continues to increase it to protect small tenants, but in fact, it is a rule that does not protect even if it is increased.]

Other government measures have offered no real help, victims say.

The requirements for obtaining low-interest charter loans are difficult, and emergency housing support measures have problems such as small housing or far from existing residences.

In fact, Incheon City has set up more than 200 emergency housing support houses, but only 8 have moved in so far.

[Victim of charter scam: The policies that are coming out now are going to make interest rates cheaper. I already have debt. And I'm going to make you homeless, I'm going to buy your house. I've lost all my money...]

(Video editing by Choi Hye-young)

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<Anchor>
Let's take a closer look at the reporter who covered
this issue and see if there are any urgent and realistic measures.

Q. What measures are required by the victims?

[Reporter Jung Ban-suk: The victims are voicing that it is most urgent to stop the auction process. They are also saying that winning the auction for the house they live in can minimize the damage, so they ask for a preferential purchase right. When a charter fraud item goes to auction, it is sold several times, and the price drops significantly below the market price. In this process, so-called "traders" enter the auction and sweep away the goods, and the victims do not even win the bid for the house they lived in.]

Q. Will the problem be solved if the auction is stopped and preferential purchase rights are given?

[Reporter: Tenants with charter loans have to pay back the loan at once after the auction is completed, and it is difficult to get additional loans. So the victims have been asking the government to allow them to borrow the auction winning bid at a low interest rate, but the government has been silent. Victims essentially say that the public agency first returns the deposit to the tenants, and then the stateIt is said that there is a need to improve the active system of collecting tack auctions.]

Q. What is the government's position?

[Reporter Jeong Ban-suk: The Ministry of Land and Infrastructure and the relevant agencies of Incheon City met urgently this afternoon (17th) for a meeting. Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-jung said that special measures were needed, and asked the government to suspend the power cut-off and water outage measures for the time being. He also recommended to the Ministry of Land and Infrastructure to suspend the auction. Therefore, the Ministry of Land and Infrastructure said that it is preparing comprehensive measures. In fact, it is difficult for administrative authorities to forcibly stop auctions that are legally guaranteed. Direct funding can also be interpreted as forgiving the amount of fraud damage from the national budget, so some social consensus is needed. Once the Ministry of Lands recognizes the seriousness of the situation, it funds the auction process He said he would discuss it with the Ministry of Justice and the Finance Committee. We must hasten the review so that the victims' demands can be the basis for correcting the weaknesses of the government's measures.]

(Video editing by Lee So-young)