785 Real Estate Agents Suspected of Jeonse Fraud Caught... 75 Cases Referred for Investigation

Ministry of Land, 4090 Licensed Real Estate Agents in 17 Cities and Provinces Inspected

#. Mr. B, who operates the YouTube channel ‘0 Teamjang’ and has posted numerous advertisements for sales, leases, and jeonse (long-term deposit rentals), was an unlicensed brokerage assistant working at A Real Estate Agency. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport confirmed this through an on-site visit to A’s real estate office and subsequently imposed a one-month business suspension on A for failing to report the brokerage assistant and fined 500,000 KRW for omissions in the display and advertisement of brokerage objects. Brokerage assistant B was reported for investigation due to displaying and advertising brokerage objects without being a licensed real estate agent.

On the 15th, the Ministry announced that it had identified approximately 785 licensed real estate agents suspected of involvement in jeonse fraud through a second special inspection conducted from May 22 to July 31.

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This inspection, following the first round, expanded the scope of suspected jeonse fraud transactions and extended the inspection area from the metropolitan area to nationwide, targeting 4,090 licensed real estate agents across 233 cities, counties, and districts. The investigation focused on violations of the Real Estate Agent Act during sales and lease contract brokerage processes.

The inspection uncovered 824 violations committed by 785 agents (19%), and 75 cases were referred to the police for investigation under relevant laws. Administrative actions are underway, including one license revocation, six registration cancellations, 96 business suspensions, and 175 fines imposed (totaling 278 administrative actions). For minor issues, warnings and corrective measures (471 cases) were issued on-site during the inspection.

Major violations included cases where brokerage assistants operated real estate offices by borrowing licenses and registration certificates from agents residing overseas, engaging in unlicensed brokerage activities. Other cases involved collusion with developers and straw landlords to create fraudulent “empty jeonse” contracts in exchange for certain payments, thereby participating in jeonse fraud.

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "Licensed real estate agents involved in illegal activities will be strictly dealt with according to relevant laws," and added, "We will continue to promote improvements in real estate agent-related systems to create a safe brokerage transaction environment."

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