Rental Deposit Fraud in Korea: What Foreign Tenants Should Save Before Reporting

Key Summary

If you are a foreign tenant in Korea and suspect rental deposit fraud, fake landlord information, or refusal to return deposit, do not rush to explain the whole story before checking the record. The f…

If you are a foreign tenant in Korea and suspect rental deposit fraud, fake landlord information, or refusal to return deposit, do not rush to explain the whole story before checking the record. The first step is to preserve the contract, payment records, landlord or broker information, building details, and all messages. This article is for foreign victims in Korea who need to preserve evidence, report without losing key context, and prepare a Korean victim statement.

Start with three basics: what happened, what proof exists, and whether the Korean record says it correctly before you sign.

The main risk is that not every deposit dispute is a criminal fraud case, so intent, false information, money trail, and civil recovery route must be reviewed together.

In plain language, this means one sentence, one message, or one missing record can change how the case looks. Korean police, prosecutors, or the court may later compare your first explanation with phone records, messages, payment records, CCTV, or other documents.

For a foreigner, there is one more problem: the final police record is usually written in Korean. If the Korean record says something slightly different from what you meant, that difference can matter later.

Preserve lease contract, transfer receipts, bank account holder, broker registration if known, listing screenshots, building registry records if available, messages, and demand letters.

Do not save only one screenshot that looks helpful. Save the full conversation and the original records where possible. A clear record usually answers four basic questions:

• Who was involved?
• When did it happen?
• What exactly happened?
• What proof shows it?

Before giving a statement, make a money-flow table and separate criminal-report facts from civil deposit-return claims.

Then build the timeline in four parts:

• Before: how the situation started.
• During: what happened at the main moment.
• After: what each person did next.
• Proof: which message, photo, receipt, file, or record supports each point.

This is important because a police interview is not a casual chat. If you guess, exaggerate, or explain too much before checking records, the statement can become confusing.

Avoid sending emotional threats to the other person, posting identifying accusations online, deleting chats after taking screenshots, or submitting cropped evidence without context. If you ask a platform to delete harmful content, record the URL, account, upload time, and deletion request first.

Also avoid making the first statement only about feelings. Police need facts first: dates, places, people, messages, payments, files, URLs, account IDs, and records showing harm or loss.

An interpreter helps you understand language. But a victim statement still needs structure: what happened, what proof exists, what you want investigated, and what harm or loss followed.

If the evidence is in your phone, computer, account, or cloud storage, ask how to submit copies while keeping original records. If your visa, job, housing, or school situation depends on the other person, that issue may need separate review.

Doyun Lee can review the payment records, the lease contract, and the wording of the Korean victim statement before it becomes the fixed record of the case. Concrete steps can include:

• Checking whether the facts support fraud under Article 347 of the Criminal Act — an intent to deceive at the time the deposit or rent was received — as distinct from a landlord or broker who simply becomes unable to return the deposit later, since only the first is a criminal case.
• Drafting the criminal complaint (고소장) so the money flow, the contract terms, and the false representation are matched fact by fact against the evidence, rather than described in general terms.
• Filing an application for a restitution order (배상명령) inside the criminal case under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Speedy Trial, so the deposit-recovery claim can move together with the criminal case instead of a separate civil lawsuit.
• If the police issue a non-referral decision, reviewing whether to file an objection under Article 245-7 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and tracking the response deadline.
• Reviewing the Korean-language victim statement before signing — you have the right to have it read back and to request a correction if the Korean sentence overstates or narrows what you actually experienced, since an ordinary phrase in English or Chinese can be recorded in Korean in a way that changes the described facts.

Legal help is not only about speaking for you. It is about making sure the Korean record matches what proof actually exists, before that record is fixed.

Q1. Should I explain everything immediately? A. Usually no. First confirm your status, the issue or alleged charge, the police station, the officer, and the date. Then prepare your timeline and records.

Q2. What if I cannot read Korean? A. Ask for interpretation before signing the Korean record. If a sentence is wrong, too broad, or missing important context, ask for correction before signing.

Q3. Is one screenshot enough? A. Usually not. One screenshot may miss context. Full messages, dates, account information, payment records, photos, files, and CCTV location clues may be needed.

Q4. Can this affect my visa or stay in Korea? A. It depends on the exact facts, charge, result, stay status, and prior history. Criminal procedure and immigration review should be checked separately.

Q5. What should I send before consultation? A. Send the police station if any, alleged charge or issue, interview or deadline date, your status in the case, timeline, complete messages, and key records to dylee@newlawyer.co.kr.

This content is general legal information and does not guarantee a result. Korean criminal cases should be reviewed based on exact facts and records. For consultation, email the timeline, complete records, and police or court documents to dylee@newlawyer.co.kr.

Already outside Korea and planning to return? If there's an unresolved criminal matter in Korea, it's worth reviewing your situation before you board your flight — a Provisional Retainer (가선임) puts a Korean criminal defense attorney on your case in advance, so counsel is already briefed and ready to respond if you're contacted by police after you arrive.

📧 dylee@newlawyer.co.kr https://koreacriminalattorney.com/en/before-entering-korea-criminal-lawyer

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