Real Estate Agencies Posting 'Habitual False Listings' Will Be Restricted from Listing Properties for Up to 6 Months

Fair Trade Commission Approves 'Amendment to Online Real Estate Advertising Self-Regulation Guidelines (Draft)'

On the 6th, a real estate agency office in Seoul / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] From now on, real estate agencies that habitually post false listings will be prohibited from registering properties on platforms such as Naver Real Estate for up to six months.

On the 10th, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it has approved the Korea Internet Self-Governance Organization (KISO)'s "Amendment to the Online Real Estate Advertising Self-Regulation" and that it will be implemented starting from the 27th.

KISO is a self-regulatory organization reported to the Fair Trade Commission, consisting of 24 participating online real estate platforms including Naver Real Estate, Real Estate Bank, Real Estate 114, and Doctor Apartment.

The amendment strengthens sanctions against real estate agencies and false reporters who habitually register false listings, considering the increase in the number of false listing registrations and false reports received by KISO over the past five years. The actual number of false listing registrations surged from 21,848 cases in 2015 to 59,371 cases in 2019.

According to the amendment, participating companies will link systems between the management center and participants to improve verification efficiency and build a system to share report details. The management center within KISO will be able to visit real estate agencies to verify the availability of reported listings and request related information such as listing details. A procedure will be introduced to reject reports if the content is insufficient.

Self-regulation, including sanctions against businesses habitually registering false listings, will be strengthened. The management center will notify participating companies and the relevant real estate agencies of violations by agencies habitually breaching the self-regulation. Participating companies will be able to impose restrictions on listing registrations for up to six months on such agencies.

Sanctions against false reporters will also be strengthened. To prevent false reports, reporters will be required to attach specific details such as the reason for the report and how they became aware of the false listing. Participating companies will display reported listings so that consumers can be informed, and may impose reporting restrictions for up to six months on habitual false reporters.

A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "This amendment to the self-regulation is expected to block false real estate advertisements in the internet real estate advertising market, provide consumers with accurate and transparent real estate information to prevent consumer damage, and contribute to establishing a fair trading order in the real estate advertising market."

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