EXCLUSIVE: "Three Years of Silence"... Where Did the 3 Billion Won Investment Go?

[Anchor]

The CEO of a well-known land investment firm has been referred to the prosecution on fraud charges. Taking advantage of the recent trend of land investment among young people, the firm allegedly lured investors with promises of high returns, claiming that if they covered the cost of purchasing caravans, they would receive a portion of the operating profits as dividends.

Kim Minjun reports exclusively.

[Reporter]

A seaside area in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province.

Three years ago, a person in their 30s, identified as A, was approached with an offer to invest in a mobile accommodation and caravan camping site planned for this location.

The firm claimed that by covering the cost of a caravan, investors could earn a 40 percent return through dividends from operating profits.

[Consultant (Recording from 2023): We are currently pushing to open (the camping site) in July of next year. We expect a return rate of nearly 40 percent.]

[A: It was 56 million won (per caravan), and they said they could pay me 2.4 million won per month (in returns) for two years.]

A invested 7 million won, but contrary to the firm's explanation that profits would begin the following year, A has not received a single won even after three years.

This is the place where investors believed the caravans and camping cars would be located.

While you can see the ocean, the surrounding area is overgrown with weeds, and the land has not been properly cleared.

The CEO of the firm is a well-known land investor in the industry, having authored books and held both online and offline lectures.

The firm also recommended investments in forest land, claiming they would conduct a profit-making project by changing the land use category of company-owned forest land to residential land, thereby increasing its value after initial investments were made.

[CEO: You can sell it for a short-term capital gain, or you can build a house on it. Why should we be working (laboring) right now?]

The sites where such investments were solicited include over a dozen locations across South Chungcheong Province, such as Seosan, Taean, and Hongseong. The confirmed investment amount alone reaches 3 billion won, with about 30 investors involved.

The CEO was recently referred to the prosecution after being sued by investors for fraud. However, a post was uploaded to an online cafe early last month announcing a lecture to recruit more investors.

The CEO explained to SBS that "this happened due to embezzlement by a business partner, and we are preparing to resume construction," adding that there was no intention to deceive investors.

However, the business partner in question stated, "I received a non-indictment decision regarding the embezzlement charges," and added, "I am also a victim."

(Video reporting: Joo Yong-jin, Kim Se-kyung | Video editing: Choi Jin-hwa | Graphics: Seo Seung-hyun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.