"Oh, that listing on Instagram? There's a better one..." Real Estate Fake Listings Still Rampant

Suspected Advertising Regulation Violations More Than Double in One Year
Assemblyman Min Hong-cheol "Government Must Devise Eradication Measures"

Suspected cases of violations of real estate advertising regulations on the internet, including Instagram, have more than doubled in the past year.

Suspected Violation Cases Detected in One Year Increased from 4,424 to 9,904, More Than Double

Jamsil Jugong Apartment Complex 5. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) to Min Hong-cheol, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the total number of suspected violation cases detected last year by the MOLIT’s Real Estate Advertising Market Monitoring Center for violations of the Real Estate Brokerage Act’s regulations on the display and advertisement of brokerage objects was 9,904.

Out of 14,155 reports and submissions requesting the monitoring center to determine violations, 70% were classified as suspected violation cases.

Compared to 2021, when the number of reports and submissions was 9,200 and the number of suspected violation cases detected was 4,424, it can be seen that the number of suspected violation cases detected more than doubled in one year.

The proportion of cases classified as suspected violations among the reported and submitted cases also increased significantly compared to 49.1% in 2021.

Advertising Listings Not Even in the Building Register on Instagram... "Government Must Take Measures to Eradicate"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Among the suspected violation cases last year, there were instances where properties advertised on social media (SNS) such as Instagram did not actually exist at all, and cases where brokerage objects that had already been contracted were still advertised after the transaction.

There were also cases detected where properties marked as having "no loan" were found to have a maximum claim amount of 234 million KRW and had mortgage liens established.

Assemblyman Min stated, "False and exaggerated real estate advertisements on the internet and other violations of advertising regulations are inappropriate acts that can disrupt market order," and emphasized, "The government must devise measures to eradicate these to prevent harm to the public."

Real Estate Advertising Market Monitoring Center Recommends Corrective Actions Through Local Governments When Suspected Cases Are Detected

Meanwhile, the monitoring center, launched in August 2020, ensures that internet real estate advertisements accurately disclose information such as the brokerage office registration number and trade name, location of brokerage listings, area, price, number of parking spaces, maintenance fees, and move-in dates, while monitoring for violations.

If suspected cases are detected, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recommends corrective actions such as fines through local governments, which are the registration authorities.

From the launch of the monitoring center in August 2020 until last March, a total of 33,740 reports were received, of which 18,933 cases, or 56.1%, were suspected violations.

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