'Jeonse Deposit Priority Repayment Act' Passed by the National Assembly Judiciary Committee

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee Passes
'Local Tax Act Amendment' to Support Jeonse Fraud Victims
Expected to be Approved at the Plenary Session on the 27th

On the 26th, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee passed the "Partial Amendment to the Framework Act on Local Taxes," which stipulates that when a tenant's residence is subject to auction or public sale, the tenant's jeonse deposit must be repaid before the local taxes imposed on the property.

Since both ruling and opposition parties are focusing on minimizing damages from jeonse fraud, the amendment is expected to be approved at the plenary session on the 27th.

On the same day, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a full meeting in the afternoon and approved the amendment to the Framework Act on Local Taxes, prioritizing the repayment of tenant deposits over local taxes.

Under the current law, when a jeonse house goes to auction or public sale, national and local taxes imposed on the real estate are repaid first regardless of the legal deadline, ahead of the tenant's deposit. As a result, tenants can only recover their jeonse deposit from the remaining amount after taxes are deducted.

Recently, a large number of jeonse fraud cases have occurred in villas and officetels inhabited by young people and newlyweds. As landlords' tax delinquencies have prevented tenants from recovering their deposits, this issue has escalated into a social problem. Consequently, the ruling and opposition floor leaders agreed to prioritize legislation to address jeonse fraud during the April extraordinary session.

If the amendment passes the plenary session, the scope of priority repayment will expand from national taxes to include local taxes, which is expected to help victims suffering from jeonse fraud.

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