Korea Association of Realtors Loses 500 Million Lawsuit Against Fake 'God of Real Estate'

Court: "Association's Social Evaluation Not Violated"

A appeared on MBC's 'Radio Star'
Photo by MBC

The Korea Association of Realtors filed a lawsuit seeking damages against a man who appeared on a TV entertainment program, was called the 'God of Real Estate,' and impersonated a licensed realtor, but lost the case.

According to the legal community on the 16th, Judge Lee Geun-young of the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 932 recently ruled against the plaintiff in the damages lawsuit filed by the association against Mr. A.

Mr. A was introduced as the 'God of Real Estate' on various entertainment programs from 2016 to 2022 and pretended to be a licensed realtor. On one broadcast, he said, "For houses listed above market price, I make beginner clients sign contracts, and for people like 'ppakkum-i,' I make them sign contracts for houses listed below market price."

In May of last year, he appeared on a broadcast program introducing himself as a '10th licensed realtor class' and mentioned several cases of celebrities purchasing buildings, claiming to have increased clients' assets by about 6 trillion won.

However, in reality, he was a brokerage assistant without a realtor license.

In August of last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Judicial Police Unit announced that they had referred him to the prosecution on charges of impersonation. The Korea Association of Realtors also filed a damages lawsuit worth about 500 million won.

The association claimed, "Mr. A made statements suggesting that licensed realtors deceive clients, neglect inexperienced customers, and broker poor-quality properties. He also exaggerated fees by simply emphasizing economic success."

They argued that Mr. A's statements on broadcasts created suspicion among viewers that licensed realtors might be 'fraudsters only interested in money,' thereby damaging the association's reputation.

The court stated, "Although Mr. A made false statements implying he was a licensed realtor on broadcasts, it is difficult to see that he infringed on the association's social evaluation or defamed its honor."

It added, "Mr. A made inappropriate remarks that could somewhat damage the dignity of licensed realtors, but these were merely exaggerated expressions of cautions in real estate transactions or comedic opinions prompted by the questioner."

Meanwhile, a person who is not a licensed realtor but uses the title of licensed realtor or a similar name can be punished by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won.

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