Young People Buying Villas Collapse First…Jeonse Loan Delinquency Rising at 5.6 Times Rate of Apartments

In the greater Seoul area, the rate of increase in delinquency among young people using Jeonse Loans with non-apartment properties as collateral has reached 5.6 times that of young people using apartments as collateral.

According to a policy document prepared by the office of Rep. Bu Seung-chan of the Democratic Party (Yongin District B) commissioned through the National Assembly Research Service, the 30-day delinquency rate among young people aged 19-39 in the greater Seoul area using Jeonse Loans with villas and other non-apartment properties as collateral rose from 0.50% in 2024 to 0.78% in 2025, an increase of 0.28 percentage points. During the same period, the delinquency rate for young people using apartments as collateral rose only from 0.24% to 0.29%, an increase of 0.05 percentage points.

The delinquency rate gap between housing types is widening each year. On a 30-day delinquency rate basis, non-apartments were actually 0.07 percentage points lower than apartments in 2019, but reversed in 2020, expanding to 0.14 percentage points in 2021, 0.26 percentage points in 2024, and further expanding to 0.49 percentage points last year. The long-term delinquency rate gap of 90 days or more also widened from 0.03 percentage points in 2019 to 0.22 percentage points last year.

Jeonse Loans are policy-based housing secured loans designed to help low-income households without homes achieve homeownership. However, even within the same policy product, repayment conditions for young people vary depending on the type of collateral property. Analyses suggest that post-Jeonse scam fallout, including declining non-apartment prices and reduced liquidity, is translating into burdens for young borrowers.

Rep. Bu Seung-chan stated, "The government should not view youth housing policy solely from the perspective of housing supply volume, but should separately examine the financial vulnerability of young people using Jeonse Loans with non-apartment collateral by housing type, including their income and repayment capacity, and formulate countermeasures accordingly."