South Korea uses a real estate system found nowhere else, in which tenants typically deposit between 60 to 80% of the property’s value as part of a two-year contract. This so-called jeonse system has the benefit of allowing tenants to live rent-free, while landlords can use the large deposits to engage in various financial activities.

But despite these advantages, a wave of fraud cases that have swept the country have underscored major flaws in jeonse practices, demonstrating tenants’ vulnerability to scammers and threatening to undermine a system that millions rely on for housing.