Concerns Over Excessive Authority Abuse by 'Budongsan Georae Bunseokwon' Leading to 'Proliferation of Lawbreakers'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] "If you list a property at a price higher than the market price and it doesn't sell... it's illegal."

Concerns are being raised that the 'Real Estate Transaction Analysis Institute' promoted by the ruling party and government may become an excessive regulatory agency that overly restricts the market under the pretext of stabilizing housing prices.

The government has stated that the institute will only monitor illegal real estate transactions, but in reality, since it can access individuals' financial and transaction information, it can effectively control all real estate transactions.

According to industry sources on the 10th, Jin Seong-jun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, recently submitted a bill titled the "Act on Real Estate Transactions and Real Estate Service Industry," which includes the composition and functions of the Real Estate Transaction Analysis Institute, in consultation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

According to the bill, the Real Estate Transaction Analysis Institute will be established as an agency under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It includes provisions for registration and reporting systems for real estate-related businesses, penalties for acts that disrupt real estate markets, and strengthened authority to request various information for investigations.

The market has pointed out that the bill could even suppress the free activities of online communities involving various groups such as real estate professionals and individuals.

In fact, the bill prohibits acts that influence housing prices through notices or online communities related to price collusion. Posting related content on social network services (SNS) or restricting sales prices at apartment residents' associations could also be subject to regulation.

Individual online listings of real estate properties could also be considered illegal. The bill stipulates that registering false price quotes without genuine intent to transact or colluding on transaction prices through notices or online communities to unfairly influence market prices is prohibited.

There are even concerns that various information from real estate information providers could become targets. The bill includes a clause requiring real estate information providers to comply with government requests to delete or prevent distribution if they provide false or illegal information.

Additionally, the bill mandates a registration system for real estate sales and real estate sales agency businesses, and a reporting system for real estate consulting and real estate information provision businesses. Failure to register or report related businesses or engaging in prohibited acts can result in imprisonment of up to three years or fines up to 30 million KRW.

Experts warn that if the government controls both real estate professionals and individuals through the institute, it will cause legal controversies and market contraction as side effects.

An industry official said, "Consumers should be able to judge the real estate market based on diverse information, but government regulations will inevitably shrink the market. The market is driven not by speculators but by genuine demand, and it is normal transactions, not abnormal ones, that move the market. The problem is that the government keeps blaming the market for the failure of real estate policies."

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