South Korea police bust real estate scam

The 15-member ring earned about 480 mn won, abusing a housing law that gives preference to a pvt homebuyer with an adopted child or children.

South Korean police said they have busted a 15-member group, which faked the adoption of children to pull off a real estate scam on Monday.

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The ring earned about 480 mn won ($479,520), abusing a housing law that gives preference to a private homebuyer with an adopted child or children.

The ringleader was arrested, while 14 others including real estate brokers and a loan shark were charged but not detained, said a spokesman for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Government anti-speculation regulations fix the price of some privately-built apartments and reserve a percentage of homes for what are seen as deserving applicants.

Officials are trying to overcome a traditional reluctance in South Korea, which places great stress on family bloodlines, to adopt children.

Police said a street vendor visited the loan shark last July and received 10 million won. In return, he waived his rights to his daughters and let a street cleaner "adopt" them. The street cleaner used the adoption document to secure his rights to buy a luxury condominium but resold the rights to a high school teacher.

In addition to the 15 people running the scam, police charged 20 biological and 19 adoptive "parents" for accepting up to 10 million won in each case.