Rental deposit fraud over 5 billion won to be punishable by life imprisonment

South Korea's Supreme Court has approved stricter sentencing guidelines for organized crimes and large-scale fraud, including rental deposit scams and voice phishing, with penalties now extending up to life imprisonment. Previously, offenders could misuse the practice of making a "deposit" for reduced sentences, even if victims did not agree. The new guidelines ensure that if substantial recovery of damages is not achieved, sentences will not be reduced. This move comes in response to the growing preval‎ence of organized scams targeting ordinary citizens, often referred to as "corporate-style rental scams." The revised guidelines mark the first significant update in 13 years.

On Tuesday, South Korea's Supreme Court Sentencing Commission announced that it had approved an amendment to the sentencing guidelines for fraud offenses during a plenary session held the previous day. The new guidelines recommend sentencing up to 25 years and 6 months in prison for cases involving large-scale, organized fraud, such as jeonse (rental deposit) scams or voice phishing, where the fraud amount ranges from 5 billion to 30 billion won, as well as for cases of general fraud involving more than 30 billion won. The guidelines also allow for sentences of up to life imprisonment, with provisions for even harsher penalties under "special adjustments" if the crime is particularly severe.

The commission also clarified that additional punishment of up to life imprisonment could be imposed for organizational scams exceeding 30 billion won in scale. Previously, sentencing guidelines only specified a minimum of 11 years in prison for such large-scale organized fraud, but the new guidelines explicitly allow for life imprisonment.

The commission’s decision reflects concerns that existing guidelines, which were based on simpler fraud cases, could diminish the deterrent effect of the law as they are not sufficient to address the increasingly diverse and organized nature of modern fraud crimes, such as jeonse fraud, voice phishing, and insurance scams. The new guidelines are seen as a step towards ensuring that perpetrators of large-scale fraud, which causes significant damage to victims, can receive appropriately severe sentences. Additionally, the commission decided that in cases where a fraudster offers compensation to the victim that is not accepted or does not result in actual recovery for the victim, such actions will no longer be considered as grounds for reducing the sentence. This change addresses criticism that such compensation offers were often misunderstood as automatic mitigating factors, when in fact they are merely a means of damage recovery.


김자현 기자 zion37@donga.com