They stole 50 million won by renting an unlicensed building... Building owner ‘not guilty’

“Additional space provided free of charge for tenant objections after signing the contract.”
“It is difficult to see that it was intentional… It does not constitute fraud.”

A landlord who was accused of tricking tenants into renting an unlicensed building and stealing tens of millions of won in deposits was cleared of charges by the prosecution.

According to the legal community on the 18th, the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Mr. A, a man in his 40s who was sent on charges of fraud on the 10th of last month.

Last February, landlord A signed a lease agreement with tenant B for a warehouse building located in Gyeonggi-do and received a deposit of 50 million won.

However, after the contract, Mr. B sued Mr. A, claiming that when he signed the contract, he did not intentionally notify him that the building was an unlicensed and illegal building and that the actual area was smaller than the contracted area.

Mr. A completely denied the charges, saying, “When I purchased the building in 2022, I was not aware of the illegality because I was told by the previous owner that it had been used without problems for decades.” In addition, they claimed that they did not intentionally deceive Mr. B because the notification of the violating building from the competent district office was made only in July 2024 after the contract was signed.

The prosecution, which examined the case, decided that it was difficult to view Mr. A's actions as fraud.

The prosecution said, “Not only did the complainant visit the site in person and check the building in detail before signing the contract, but immediately after signing the contract, when he raised an objection saying that the actual area was small, the suspect immediately took action to allow the suspect to use the additional space free of charge and without rent.” If Mr. A was intentionally defrauding, there was no reason to provide additional area free of charge.

Regarding the charge of deception related to illegal buildings, the prosecution said, “Considering that the timing of the correction order from the competent city hall is consistent with the suspect’s claim, and that the building in question has been used without any problems before, it is difficult to say that the suspect signed the contract with knowledge of the illegality.”

Attorney Kim Ji-hee of Daeryun Law Firm, representing Mr. A, explained, “For a crime of fraud to be established, the intention to deceive and defraud must be proven. The client faithfully fulfilled his obligations, including making repairs at his own expense, and was able to get rid of the unfair charges by proving with objective evidence that he was not aware of the illegal building at the time of signing the contract.”

Reporter Kim Mi-ji unknown@kyeonggi.com

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50 million won was stolen by renting an unauthorized building... Building owner ‘not guilty’ (link)