South Korean actress Seo Hyun-jin, known for her roles in popular K-dramas such as "The Trunk," "Dr. Romantic," and "Another Miss Oh," is reportedly the victim of a large-scale "jeonse" fraud, potentially incurring multi-million dollar losses. News outlets reported on June 2, 2025, that Seo Hyun-jin was unable to recover her rental deposit, leading her to file for a court auction in April 2025.
The situation revolves around the "jeonse" system, a unique Korean rental agreement where instead of monthly rent, tenants pay a large lump-sum deposit to the landlord. This deposit is then returned at the end of the lease term. In Seo Hyun-jin's case, she initially signed a "jeonse" contract in April 2020 for a luxury villa located in the Gangnam district of Seoul, depositing 2.5 billion KRW (approximately $1.81 million USD). In 2022, upon renewing the lease, she increased the deposit to 2.65 billion KRW (approximately $1.92 million USD).
However, when the lease expired in early 2024, the landlord failed to return the deposit despite Seo Hyun-jin having registered her leaseholder rights. Consequently, after completing her tenant registration in September 2024 and vacating the property, the actress initiated legal proceedings in April 2025, filing for a court auction to recover her money.
Unfortunately, the property has since been classified as a "kkangtong house," a Korean term for a property where the market value has fallen below the total amount of debt and deposits associated with it. While the villa was initially appraised at around 2.873 billion KRW, the first round of court-led bidding failed to attract any buyers. Subsequently, the minimum bid has been reduced to 2.2989 billion KRW, significantly less than the amount Seo Hyun-jin deposited.
Real estate experts are skeptical about the price rising anytime soon, given the current downturn in the South Korean real estate market. For Seo Hyun-jin to recover her full deposit, a bidder would need to offer over 2.6 billion KRW, which seems unlikely under the current circumstances, potentially leading to a significant financial loss for the actress.
A representative from Seo Hyun-jin's agency, Management SOOP, has stated that it is difficult to confirm the matter as it is a private issue. Meanwhile, Seo Hyun-jin is preparing for her return to the small screen in the upcoming K-Drama, "Love Me," a remake of the Swedish drama of the same name.
