‘Change type’ after winning Newlywed Special?… 30-year-old 'not guilty' for violating housing law

The type was changed to ‘single-parent family’ as it did not apply to newlyweds as of the date of the move-in recruitment announcement.
Police: “The suspect did not request a change of type first… making it difficult to recognize the ‘unfair method’”

A suspect in his 30s who was accused of arbitrarily changing the type of apartment after winning an apartment subscription contract when he was not qualified was acquitted.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, the Gyeonggi Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station decided not to send A, a woman in her 30s, who was booked on charges of violating the housing law on the 6th of last month.

Mr. A won the subscription in 2023. I won by applying for a special supply for newlyweds, but later, during the document submission process, I learned that the marriage was registered after the date of the tenant recruitment announcement.

Based on the date of the recruitment announcement, Mr. A was not a newlywed couple, so according to principle, the winning subscription should have been canceled, but the contract went ahead. This was because the winning type changed from newlyweds to ‘single-parent families.’

Regarding this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requested an investigation, believing that Mr. A colluded with the project owner to arbitrarily change the subscription type.

However, Mr. A completely denied the charges. At the time, an official from the construction company responded that “since she was pregnant at the time of the recruitment announcement, it could be considered a common-law marriage,” and explained that she submitted additional necessary materials.

Afterwards, when I visited the sales office again, I was told by the person in charge, “I won as the remaining generation of a single-parent family,” and I just believed and followed that.

The police determined that Mr. A was not guilty. It is said that the person who first informed about the change in subscription type was an employee of the sales office.

The police explained, “The employees are experts who have received training related to subscription,” and “It would have been difficult for the suspect to recognize this type change notice as an ‘unfair method.’” He also added, “It is difficult to say that this was intentional because the suspect did not first request to change the subscription type, but rather followed the guidance of the sales agency employee.”

Attorney Jang Eun-min of Daeryun Law Firm, who is Mr. A's legal representative, said, "A violation of the housing law can only be established if it constitutes an act of obtaining housing by false or other illegal means." He added, "Mr. A told everything as it was, from the date of marriage registration to the fact of pregnancy, and followed all necessary procedures, including submission of documents, so we were able to obtain a good result by emphasizing that there was no intention."

Reporter Seohyun Lee (sunshine@kyeonggi.com)

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'Change type' after winning Newlywed Special?... 30-year-old ‘not guilty’ of housing law violation (link)