One Year Since Lease Law Enforcement... Seoul Apartment Jeonse Prices Rose by 130 Million Won

Kim Sang-hoon, People Power Party Member
Increase Rate Tripled Compared to 1 Year Ago... Nowon-gu Up 9 Times

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] One year after the implementation of the new lease law, which centers on the renewal contract claim right and the cap on monthly rent increases, the average jeonse (long-term deposit lease) price for apartments in Seoul has risen by more than 130 million KRW.

According to data received by Kim Sang-hoon, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Korea Real Estate Board on the 23rd, the average jeonse price for Seoul apartments in July this year was 624.02 million KRW, a 27% increase (135.28 million KRW) compared to the price one year before the new lease law was implemented (488.74 million KRW).

Compared to the 40.92 million KRW increase during the one year from July 2019, one year before the law’s implementation, to July last year, just before the law took effect, this is a threefold increase.

The average jeonse price for apartments in Gangnam-gu as of July this year was 1.13065 billion KRW, rising by 258.57 million KRW in one year. Songpa-gu also saw an increase of over 200 million KRW (217.81 million KRW), followed by Gangdong-gu (191.01 million KRW), Seocho-gu (178.73 million KRW), and Yongsan-gu (159.90 million KRW).

In Songpa-gu, Gangdong-gu, and Yongsan-gu, the increase in the year before the lease law was implemented was about 50 million KRW at most, meaning the rise in one year after the law took effect was more than four times higher. Notably, in Nowon-gu, the price rose by 9.05 million KRW from July 2019 to July 2020, but increased by 80.78 million KRW one year after the law’s implementation, marking a ninefold increase.

Representative Kim said, "The statistics prove that life under jeonse has become even more difficult due to the new lease law that the ruling party pushed through by force," adding, "Unless the government and ruling party make a major policy shift, the rise in jeonse prices will accelerate, causing greater hardship for the people."