An additional 963 people have been recognized as victims of lump-sum “jeonse” rental housing deposit fraud, making them eligible for government support.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on Wednesday that it approved 936 out of one-thousand-220 requests seeking the government’s recognition as jeonse fraud victims.

The ministry said it rejected 120 requests due to the possibility that the tenants can get their entire jeonse deposit back and turned down 89 requests as they failed to meet certain criteria.

As a result, the number of victims recognized by the government has risen to seven-thousand-590 since a special law went into effect in June that provides support for jeonse fraud victims.

Under the law, eligibility extends to tenants with a fixed date on their jeonse contract whose residence is put up for auction while an investigation into alleged fraud has been launched.

Once eligible, the victims can apply for a deferment or suspension of the auction and decide whether to purchase the home through the right of first refusal or continue with the lease.