150,000 Ineligible Winners Over 5 Years
1-Year Ban on Applications After Cancellation
Pre-Check and Practice Required on 'Cheongyak Home'
On the afternoon of the 18th, elderly residents are receiving consultations regarding the lease-type public rental housing application at the LH Seoul Central Residential Welfare Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) announced that from the 18th to the 20th, applications for 14,843 lease-type public rental housing units will begin through the LH application website and on-site registration.
With the revival of the price ceiling system for pre-sale apartments, the gap between apartment pre-sale prices and actual transaction prices has widened significantly, turning apartment subscription into a 'lottery.' Record-breaking subscription competition rates are emerging one after another, especially in apartments in the metropolitan area. However, many applicants end up in tears after being disqualified despite winning the 'lottery subscription,' so caution is required from applicants.
About 150,000 winners have been disqualified over the past five years. According to data received by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Hoon-sik from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, an average of about 31,000 disqualified winners have been selected annually since 2015. This accounts for 13.1% of the total 1,125,687 winners during this period.
The largest group of disqualified winners (49.7%) were general disqualifications due to errors such as incorrect calculation of subscription points. This was followed by violations of re-winning restrictions (37.5%), violations of the supply criteria for households without housing (4.2%), and violations of special supply frequency limits (3.6%).
Most disqualifications result from minor mistakes or errors by applicants. Even if applicants explain that there was no intentional wrongdoing after winning, it is difficult to receive relief. Being treated as a disqualified winner not only invalidates the win but also prohibits subscription applications for one year from the date of winning.
The simplest way to reduce the possibility of disqualification is to check subscription eligibility in advance and perform subscription simulations.
Since February 2020, the Korea Real Estate Board, which handles subscription tasks, has created the 'Apply Home (https://www.applyhome.co.kr/)' website and established a subscription eligibility verification and pre-management system. Applicants can check the eligibility of household members, verify home ownership, and check subscription savings account rankings. They can also calculate subscription points and practice the subscription procedures for the desired complex in advance.
However, since the criteria for special supply and general supply differ and regional regulations vary, applicants must perform 'self-checks.' While the Apply Home system significantly reduces the likelihood of common mistakes and errors, it does not catch all errors. Applicants must carefully verify their input scores themselves. Special attention should be paid to the 'income criteria.' Apply Home does not have access to national income data and therefore does not pre-check applicants' income eligibility.
In reality, despite the help of Apply Home, disqualified applicants continue to appear in large numbers. The most frequent error was related to the 'income criteria.' In March 2020, among 647 households that applied as first-priority subscribers for the 'Gwacheon Jade Xi' complex in Gyeonggi-do, which attracted attention as a 'lottery complex,' 147 households were converted to standby winners. This was analyzed to be due to 22.7% of applicants failing to meet the income criteria, one of the subscription eligibility requirements.
Despite strengthening the pre-filtering system to reduce disqualified applicants, the reason disqualifications have not decreased is interpreted as the result of the 'blind subscription' fever. Cases with mass disqualifications are concentrated in complexes where the pre-sale price is significantly lower than the market price, attracting a large number of applicants. This means that amid the overheated atmosphere, many applicants subscribe first without thorough consideration.
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