Businessman Mr. Kim joined a 5 billion won overseas real estate fund at Shinhan Bank's asset management center in 2017. It is said that the bank employee's persuasion, claiming that the overseas country was absolutely safe because it was under a long-term lease, was decisive. Since the country is now in operation, unless there are significant issues or reasons for it to fail, there is no risk of default. The risk is entirely absent, and they promised dividends that exceeded interest rates at the time. The product involved selling the securities of the building to investors after five years, and at that time, there was such high demand that they couldn't sell enough. The two funds sold by Shinhan Bank alone exceeded 500 billion won. However, since two years ago, the dividends have been cut to a tenth, and there have been times when they were completely halted. Due to the inability to sell, the money is effectively not being received, and investors are advised not to have high expectations. In reality, the entire investment amount in real estate is at risk. But there is a bigger problem.

There were writings and signatures of other people scattered throughout the fund contract. Here, here, and here are my writings. This is not my writing at all. This is 100% not my writing, and Mr. Kim has never had any past dealings. Someone else signed on his behalf. When I was asked if I had more than three years of investment experience, that was also a lie. In fact, when I had the handwriting analyzed, it turned out that all of it was forged. I directly asked the person in charge who recommended the investment at that time, Do you remember Mr. Kim? He was a client. Yes, yes, but is there a reason you checked directly? I'm sorry. Shinhan Bank explained that they did not violate the obligation to write by hand at the time of the contract and that they fulfilled their duty to explain investment risks. However, the Financial Supervisory Service has confirmed that it has begun a full investigation, including requesting an explanation from Shinhan Bank. This is Jeong Seong from JTBC. So, what about the building in the U.S. that Shinhan Bank claimed was 100% safe real estate?

What kind of place is it? When our reporting team visited, we found that it was only part of the space used by NASA employees, and there were many vacant areas, leading to a significant drop in the building's value. Did Shinhan Bank properly explain these points when selling the fund? Continuing with reporter Jeong Hye-seong. The first floor of NASA's headquarters in Washington, D.C., is empty. Only a souvenir shop and a laundromat are present. A building official told JTBC that 10 to 19% of the building is currently occupied by NASA employees, and it is uncertain whether they will renew the lease in 2028. Originally, the NASA fund was supposed to mature in March 2022, and profit distribution should have ended by then. However, due to a lack of buyers for the building, the maturity was extended by another five years. The value of the three buildings has halved, and it is uncertain what will happen in five years. Currently, overseas real estate funds are centered around special purpose companies (SPCs) established for this purpose, which manage investment funds and local operations.

The structure involves investing in the building with the loan received from the bank. The NASA fund has 260 billion, and the European Parliament fund borrowed 140 billion from a local bank. As interest rates on loans rise, dividends have also decreased. Most importantly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the commercial real estate market has stagnated, causing a sharp decline in property values. If we prioritize repaying local loans, there will essentially be nothing left to return to investors. After deducting the costs incurred during the sale and the taxes imposed by each country, there is almost nothing left. Once we repay the principal of the loans, there will be no funds to return. However, despite reviewing dozens of product prospectuses, there is not a single line warning about this. We were not even aware that loans were being taken out. They leveraged so much with such a small amount of money to acquire something so large. A senior official from the Financial Supervisory Service stated that if the bank did not provide proper explanations, it would be considered a wrongful act, and they plan to conduct an inspection.

Last year, the scale of overseas real estate funds in the financial sector was revealed to be 57 trillion won, with signs of collapse being detected everywhere. This is Jeong Seong from JTBC. We previously reported that Shinhan Bank's overseas real estate fund, which featured a NASA building, suffered massive losses. Now, we have news about KB Securities' fund, which is based on a Facebook building. Investors have also incurred significant losses, and the problem is that signs of irregularities in the subscription process have emerged once again. This is reporter Jeong Hye-seong. 

This is the European headquarters of Facebook located in Dublin, Ireland. Five years ago, KB Securities gathered investors for a fund that invested in this building. They claimed it was a fund structure that could not fail because it was based on long-term leases. They only said that. They promised that dividends would be paid every six months and that profits would be shared when the building was sold, which made it sound like a safe investment. As a result, one investor put in 100 million won. However, the sale of the building has...

The situation that was expected at the beginning of last year changed rapidly. A building purchased for 150 billion won was put on the market for 40 billion won less, but there are no buyers. Local banks and other creditors are pressuring to sell the building to pay off debts. Not only has KB Securities lost the 66 billion won it directly invested, but it is also in a situation where it could lose the 2.2 billion won from investors, leading to a three-year extension of the product's maturity last year. However, there is a bigger problem. Mr. Lee, who requested the contract late, discovered someone else's handwriting in various places. He had said he needed a person for the department, and he agreed, but he only received the contract last year. Did you know that it was checked for this reason? Yes, that's right. The account number is also not in my handwriting. Someone signed on my behalf, stating that they did not need principal protection, and ultimately, he ended up subscribing to a high-risk product. In fact, the handwriting analysis showed it was someone else's writing.

It was revealed later that the employee had checked no on the form, which meant that it was a product that should not have been subscribed to at all. Everything was wrong, and I understand that. There was no explanation that there was a 100% risk of loss when the price of the fund went down. I also trusted the materials provided by the company and guided accordingly. I am also a victim; I am a victim. Even when the maturity was extended last year, during the 100% loss crisis, proxy signatures continued. KB Securities explained that after reviewing the relevant materials, including the employee's records, there were no issues in the sales process. The Financial Supervisory Service has begun an investigation to see if there were any issues with improper sales, and Mr. Lee has stated that he plans to file a lawsuit. This is Jeong Seong from JTBC. As you can see, with the recent downturn in the overseas real estate market, investors in the fund are in a position to lose their entire investment.

The problem is whether banks and securities firms properly explained these high-risk products when selling funds. Unless there is a reason for failure, people believed that the principal amount would be guaranteed, and they could receive additional returns. However, issues arise when, for example, rental income does not come in, contrary to the explanations provided by financial companies. These overseas real estate funds are high-risk products. In particular, these products rely on loans obtained from local banks. The loan-to-value ratio is close to 60% of the property price, making them vulnerable to interest rate fluctuations. During a real estate downturn, even if properties are sold, there is virtually nothing to return to investors. Financial companies selling these products must sincerely explain the investment risks, including the interest rates on the loans and what happens when those rates increase, but this is not being done properly on the ground.

It has not been upheld. Even evidence has emerged that investor signatures were forged, yet they concluded that there was no problem based solely on their internal investigation. Ultimately, investors are left with no choice but to extend the maturity or seek self-compensation through dispute resolution with financial authorities. A representative from a gold and silver company recently mentioned that personnel related to overseas real estate funds are flooding in. Another official stated that if consumer protection has not been properly implemented, it would not be good, and they will continue to check the internal control systems of financial companies. This is Jeong Hye-seong from JTBC.

"돌려드릴 돈이 없어요"…신한·KB 줄줄이 터진 상황 #뉴스다 / JTBC News

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