HUG Launches Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safety Trust Center, Offering Support from Consultation to Deposit Return

[Financial News] A Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safety Trust program, under which a public body manages tenants' jeonse deposits and pays investment proceeds to landlords like monthly rent, has gotten off the ground.
The launch ceremony and sign-unveiling ceremony for the Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safety Trust Center were held on the third floor of Taeheung Building in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 22nd. The center will begin providing full-scale support alongside the announcement of applications for the program at the end of September.
Kim Yi-tak, First Vice Minister of MOLIT, who attended the launch ceremony, stated, "The Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safety Trust program will provide both landlords and tenants with a stable rental environment while also promoting housing supply. As an advanced model of a virtuous cycle in housing, today will mark its starting point."
Under the Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safety Trust program, tenants deposit their jeonse funds with a public jeonse and monthly-rent stabilization organization. The funds are invested in a housing supply activation fund, and the resulting proceeds are paid to landlords each month. By placing their deposits with a public institution, tenants can reduce the risks of jeonse fraud and deposit nonpayment, while landlords can secure regular income without concerns about vacancies or rent arrears.
The program is a response to the accelerating shift from jeonse to monthly rent, as tenants have increasingly avoided jeonse in the aftermath of jeonse fraud and landlords have increasingly preferred monthly rent. The system was introduced amid concerns that housing costs for young people and other vulnerable groups were rising because the jeonse-to-monthly-rent conversion rate was higher than jeonse loan interest rates.
HUG will take charge of the public jeonse and monthly-rent stabilization organization. This decision took into account HUG's experience in jointly promoting stability in the rental market and housing supply through jeonse guarantees, public rental housing supply, and housing project guarantees.
Choi In-ho, president of HUG, said, "HUG has supported the government's real estate policies and housing supply efforts. Through the Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safety Trust program, we will strive to make further strides as a platform institution that provides comprehensive support for housing finance and housing supply."
The Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safety Trust Center supports the entire process, from program guidance, consultations, and application intake to verifying basic requirements such as jeonse and monthly-rent prices compared with market rates, signing agreements, collecting deposits, sealing contracts, and returning deposits after contracts end. In the early stages of the program, the center plans to meet landlords and tenants in person, gather their opinions and difficulties from the field, and improve the system and business procedures.
Choi explained, "The Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safety Trust Center is the front-line point of contact where it directly communicates with the general public, as well as landlords and tenants. Tenants and landlords who have questions can visit in person or contact us through various channels, including by phone, for consultations and applications. We will verify the applications and, ultimately, conduct the contracts and post-contract management centered on the center in earnest."
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter