Outrage is growing online after it became known that a tenant who had been living on monthly rent without a deposit turned the room into a pile of trash and disappeared.
On the 31st, on the online community "Bobaedream," a post titled "I run a studio apartment and someone turned it into a trash room and fled. Please help" was uploaded. The poster, A, said, "The tenant piled up miscellaneous trash in the room, refused to pay the cleaning fee, and left. The tenancy was quite long, so I requested a cleaning fee of 500,000 won, but it was refused," and shared several photos.
Food waste and household items were piled up in heaps inside the room, and the bathroom was covered with mold and contaminants. The mirror had turned cloudy, and the toilet and walls were caked with grime. It was effectively at a level where it was hard to believe someone had lived there.
A told the tenant, "This is too much. I will find a cleaning company, so just deposit the expense," but the tenant reportedly replied, "You have plenty of money, so take care of it yourself." A warned, "If you pay the cleaning fee, I will tidy up and end it, but if you refuse, I will seek damages through the law, whether civil or criminal," but the tenant ultimately did not comply.
In the end, A filed a complaint against the tenant on suspicion of property damage. But the court decided there was "no charge." A said, "Just disposing of the trash cost 1.05 million won. I'm at a loss as to how much more expense it will take to restore the room to its original state," expressing frustration.
A said, "In such a case, how can I be compensated? I need advice on whether to resolve this through civil action."
Readers who saw the post reacted in various ways, saying, "It's too risky to rent without a deposit," "It's shocking that someone can live like that," "If there had at least been a deposit, you could have received minimal compensation," and "The person seems to have mental issues."
Some readers also advised, "You should take a 10 million won deposit as a baseline. Otherwise, it's better to leave it vacant."