Appraisers to be Hired Over 200 Starting Next Year... Also Blocking 'Bank Gapjil' Abuses

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Starting next year, the number of successful candidates for the Certified Real Estate Appraiser qualification exam will increase to more than 200 annually. Additionally, the practice of 'gapjil,' where banks or companies obtain only approximate appraisal value information from appraisers before formally commissioning them and then do not proceed with the request, will be eradicated.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 10th the "Improvement Plan to Strengthen the Competitiveness of the Real Estate Appraisal Industry," which includes these measures.

First, the act of banks or companies requesting appraisal value information prior to formal appraisal commissioning will be prohibited. Until now, it was common to receive approximate appraisal values and other information through informal consultations before formally commissioning an appraisal, often resulting in no contract being signed.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to amend the law to clearly define the independent status of real estate appraisers and block unfair influence from clients on appraisals. To eliminate the practice of non-payment of fees, it will be established as a work principle that appraisers issue appraisal reports only after receiving their fees.

To encourage young and talented individuals to actively enter the appraisal market, the number of successful candidates for the qualification exam, which was previously limited to 150-200 per year, will be gradually increased to more than 200 starting next year. Minors will also be allowed to take the qualification exam, but registration to commence work will be permitted only after reaching adulthood.

The unfair market environment within the appraisal industry will also be improved. The benefit of allocating public land price appraisal volumes, which had been given to large corporations, will be abolished so that small and medium-sized corporations and individual offices can also participate in public appraisal work.

Appraisal supervision will be strengthened. The Appraisal Management and Disciplinary Committee under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will review the validity of appraisals suspected of deficiencies and shorten the investigation period to within two months.

Disciplinary records of appraisers, including work suspensions, will be disclosed, and the linkage of disciplinary actions with qualification and registration cancellations will be implemented to enhance the effectiveness of penalties.

Furthermore, to increase the effectiveness of appraisal sample surveys, which had been conducted by random sampling, priority sampling surveys will be conducted in areas with high risks of illegal activities or deficiencies.

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