66% of referred real estate-disturbance cases closed without charges, lawmaker says
Version 2: An additional business outlet reported the same figures and case examples, with no new facts, and the ministry and the Korea Real Estate Board still have not responded.
In short
Data obtained by Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the People Power Party shows that of 4,161 cases the Korea Real Estate Board forwarded to local governments from 2021 through July this year, 66.0 percent (2,748) were closed at the local government stage as no charges or equivalent, while 8.2 percent (341) led to administrative action and 11.7 percent (485) were referred for investigation. The board’s real estate transaction order disturbance report centre received 5,042 reports over the period, with filings rising from 87 in 2022 to 1,488 in 2025 and already 1,094 in the first seven months of this year. Yoo called for a standing joint inspection system and unified investigation and disposition guidelines, saying local governments’ formal written reviews are producing a structural break.
Read the full story 2 min read
About two-thirds of real estate transaction-disturbance cases that the Korea Real Estate Board referred to local governments were closed without charges, according to data obtained by Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Real Estate Board. Yonhap, Maeil Business and Kyunghyang Shinmun reported the same figures on 5 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The board’s real estate transaction order disturbance report centre received 5,042 reports from 2021 through the end of July this year. Filings rose from 87 in 2022 to 491 in 2023, then 1,208 in 2024 and 1,488 in 2025, with 1,094 already received in the first seven months of this year, the documents said. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
After an initial review, the board sent 4,161 cases it judged to show strong indications of illegality to local governments across the country for investigation and disposition. Of those, 66.0 percent (2,748 cases) were closed at the local government stage as no charges or equivalent, 8.2 percent (341 cases) led to administrative action such as cancellation of a licensed agent’s registration or suspension of business, and 11.7 percent (485 cases) were referred for investigation. The documents said the low rates of action have prompted criticism that local governments apply an overly passive reading of the law and effectively grant impunity. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The reports cite two examples. In Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, the board received a report that a licensed agent had bought property under a spouse’s name based on information obtained in the course of a brokerage, and concluded after checking the facts that the allegation was credible; the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act prohibits direct transactions between a practising licensed agent and a brokerage client. The local government that took over the case accepted the respondent’s explanation that it was a direct deal between the seller and the buyer, the spouse, with the purchase paid from the buyer’s own assets, and closed it as no charges. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
In Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, an agent was reported for violating the duty to confirm and explain the brokerage object after recommending a lease contract under which the long-term repair reserve fund was charged to the tenant without a separate explanation. Under the Multi-Family Housing Management Act the reserve fund is to be borne by the owner of the housing. The local government nevertheless found no charges, saying the provision differing from the Multi-Family Housing Management Act was set out in a special contract clause and therefore was not a violation of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Yoo said the board deploys specialist staff to screen and refer cases, “yet local governments review them only on paper and close two-thirds as no charges, producing a structural break.” He called for institutionalising a standing joint inspection system between the board and local governments and for promptly preparing clear, unified investigation and disposition guidelines to prevent arbitrary judgment by local government officials. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The figures point to a gap between the agency that screens reports of real estate market manipulation and the local governments that decide whether to penalise. If the pattern holds, the board’s specialist screening has limited effect on enforcement. The lawmaker’s proposal for standing joint inspections and unified guidelines would change how the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the board and local governments work together, though the documents record no response to it from the ministry or the board.
Key facts
- The Korea Real Estate Board’s real estate transaction order disturbance report centre received 5,042 reports from 2021 through the end of July this year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Annual reports rose from 87 in 2022 to 491 in 2023, 1,208 in 2024 and 1,488 in 2025, with 1,094 filed in the first seven months of this year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The board forwarded 4,161 cases it judged to show strong indications of illegality to local governments for investigation and disposition. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Of those, 66.0 percent (2,748) were closed at the local government stage as no charges or equivalent; 8.2 percent (341) drew administrative action such as broker registration cancellation or business suspension, and 11.7 percent (485) were referred for investigation. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- In Changwon, the board judged that a licensed agent used information obtained through a brokerage to buy property under a spouse’s name, but the local government accepted the respondent’s account of a direct deal using the buyer’s own funds and closed the case as no charges. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- In Yongin, a local government cleared an agent who had a long-term repair reserve fund charged to a tenant, saying the differing term was specified in a special contract clause and was not a violation of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, called for a standing joint inspection system between the board and local governments and for unified investigation and disposition guidelines. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- From 2021 through July this year, 5,042 reports were filed with the Korea Real Estate Board’s real estate transaction order disturbance report centre, and the board forwarded 4,161 cases to local governments. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- 66.0 percent (2,748) of the forwarded cases were closed at the local government stage as no charges or equivalent; 8.2 percent (341) resulted in administrative action and 11.7 percent (485) were referred for investigation. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Report numbers grew from 87 in 2022 to 491 in 2023, 1,208 in 2024 and 1,488 in 2025, with 1,094 filed in the first seven months of this year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The documents cite a Changwon case involving an agent’s purchase under a spouse’s name and a Yongin case involving a long-term repair reserve fund charged to a tenant; both were closed as no charges by local governments. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the People Power Party called for a standing joint inspection system and unified investigation and disposition guidelines. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- How many local governments were involved and how each of the 4,161 forwarded cases was decided. Only two cases are described and the documents give no breakdown by region or local government.
- Whether the local governments’ decisions were legally correct. The documents report the local governments’ reasoning only as summarised in the lawmaker’s data and do not record direct responses from the local governments.
- Whether the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport or the Korea Real Estate Board has responded to the findings or plans to act on the proposal. None of the documents includes a response from the ministry or the board.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap publishes its report on the lawmaker’s data showing 66 percent of forwarded real estate disturbance cases closed as no charges. [ 1 ]
- Maeil Business publishes its report with the same figures and case examples. [ 2 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun publishes its report with the same figures, case examples and criticism of local governments’ handling. [ 3 ]