[Asia Economy Reporter Noh Kyung-jo] The Korea Association of Realtors (hereinafter referred to as the Association) has absorbed and integrated the Saedaehan Association of Realtors (hereinafter Saedaehan) during its process of becoming a statutory organization.
According to industry sources on the 21st, at the Association's 149th extraordinary general meeting of delegates held the previous afternoon, the 'Saedaehan integration agenda' was approved with 81 out of 133 votes in favor.
The next steps involve Saedaehan convening a general meeting of delegates to resolve dissolution and submitting a liquidation plan to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, after which the Association is expected to pay Saedaehan 2.5 billion KRW as liquidation funds.
This is not the first integration for the Association. The current Association absorbed the Daehan Association of Realtors (hereinafter Daehan) in 2007. At that time, no separate payment was made to Daehan, and it is known that the merger occurred after Daehan completed its own liquidation.
Previously, an Association official stated, "Currently, Saedaehan operates an education center, and employee severance pay must be settled. Times have changed. We cannot just tell them to close down."
The Association aims to complete the integration process within the year and plans to negotiate detailed schedules and costs with Saedaehan.
The Association's active efforts are driven by the passage of the revised Licensed Real Estate Agents Act, which was introduced by Kim Byung-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 4th.
The amendment designates the Association as a statutory organization and mandates that licensed real estate agents seeking registration must join the Association. Based on this, the Association is determined to lead efforts to legalize and regulate illegal and unregistered brokerage activities.
However, when Jin Sung-jun, a Democratic Party member, previously introduced a similar amendment mandating Association membership last year, the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee opposed it, stating, "Professional qualification organizations that mandate membership, such as the Bar Association and the Tax Accountants Association, are recognized as statutory organizations only if they are single organizations. Since multiple associations exist in the real estate brokerage industry, this could cause internal confusion."
Opinions are divided among proptech companies represented by platforms like Zigbang and Dabang, as well as among licensed real estate agents, regarding this amendment and the Association's integration efforts.
A representative from a proptech company said, "This is a matter of survival for proptech startups. Since the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has declared its intention to foster proptech, it should not be biased toward one side (the Association)."
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