The man, in his 30s, had moved into a townhouse in Incheon after paying a hefty deposit of 70 million won (U$54,100). However, he had heard that the property had been auctioned off within a year, leaving him without the return of his deposit. His mobile phone contained a message expressing his disappointment with the government’s actions against rent fraud and expressing how difficult life had become for him. With a difference of 5 million won (U$3,860) in the deposit amount, he was not eligible for tenant protection, and thus was not eligible to receive the deposit as the highest priority. This news was a shock to him, and unfortunately, it was not long after that the man was found dead in the same town house. He had been unable to cope with the financial burden and the unfairness of the situation, leading to his tragic death.
The landlord was a builder who had constructed around 2,700 houses in the Incheon city. Unfortunately, due to his deteriorating financial conditions, he has not returned the deposit to his tenants since last year. The police have been able to confirm the total amount of damage that has been caused, and it is estimated to be an astonishing 12.6 billion won (U$ 13,222,000). This is an incredibly large amount of money, and it is likely to take a great deal of time and effort to restore the affected area to its former state. As a result, he has been arrested for committing multiple rent contracts even though his ability to repay the deposit was questionable. This has put the Victims Countermeasures Committee in an unfortunate position, as they are left to deal with many tenants that have lost all their hard-earned property, are under pressure to repay loans, or are even being driven to homelessness on the streets. To make matters worse, the government and Incheon City have not provided any plans for damage relief. This has further deepened the plight of those affected by the landlord’s default on the long-term rent with lump-sum deposit, leaving them feeling helpless and desperate for a solution. This is an incredibly difficult situation that requires the government and the Incheon City to provide some form of relief to the tenants that have been affected by the landlord’s obligation.