Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Strictly Crack Down on Real Estate 'Star Instructors' and KakaoTalk Chat Rooms

▲ Park Sun-ho, 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, speaking at the launch ceremony of the 'Real Estate Market Illegal Activities Response Team' held on the 21st (Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] From now on, there will be full-scale crackdowns on unregistered real estate brokerage and tax evasion by so-called 'star instructors' on the internet, such as YouTube. Collusive acts to maintain housing prices above a certain level will also be subject to criminal punishment.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 24th, the 'Real Estate Market Illegal Activity Response Team,' launched on the 21st, has started full-scale activities from this day, focusing on crackdowns not only on up-and-down contracts and illegal resale but also on unregistered brokerage activities and price collusion in online spaces.

The Ministry plans to focus on cracking down on illegal brokerage and tax evasion by star instructors who inform about so-called 'hot spots' through YouTube, internet cafes, and KakaoTalk chat rooms. It has been reported that some star instructors recently have been involved in arranging joint investments or linking properties with brokerage offices. Such acts violate the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act if the instructor does not have a real estate agent license, and if they promote specific complexes upon request, it constitutes a violation of the Act on Labeling and Advertising.

Acts of educating tax-saving techniques through tax consultations will also be subject to investigation. Park Sun-ho, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, recently appeared on a radio broadcast and stated that these methods "mostly constitute illegal or quasi-illegal acts," adding, "All suspicious cases will be reported to the National Tax Service for detailed investigation," signaling a strong response policy.

The Illegal Activity Response Team is also known to have begun a full-scale internal investigation into housing price collusion. It has been reported that before the launch of the response team, collusion in housing prices was reported in about ten complexes in the metropolitan area. Acts such as requiring other residents or brokers to trade only above a certain price level or excluding brokers who refuse are all included in housing price collusion. In such cases, criminal punishment of up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won is possible.

As it became known that such acts could actually lead to punishment, KakaoTalk chat rooms exchanging real estate information announced a policy to forcibly remove anyone mentioning the prices of specific complexes or specific brokerage offices after the 21st.

A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official said, "With the launch of the Real Estate Market Illegal Activity Response Team, a wide-ranging investigation into all real estate misconduct will begin," adding, "Market disruption activities through SNS such as YouTube, which have been rampant during the recent market overheating period, will also be a major investigation target."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.