South Gyeongsang Province Detects 76 Cases of Illegal Real Estate Brokerage ... Certificate Lending and Unlicensed Brokerage Included

A large number of individuals involved in illegal real estate brokerage activities in South Gyeongsang Province have been caught.

The South Gyeongsang Provincial Government announced on December 19 that, as a result of joint inspections and guidance conducted from February to November with cities, counties, districts, and the Gyeongnam Branch of the Korea Association of Realtors at real estate brokerage offices in the province, a total of 76 violations were detected.

Out of 6,040 brokerage offices in the province, the government randomly selected 141 offices in 21 cities, counties, and districts-excluding Sancheong County, which is still undergoing recovery from recent flood damage-for joint inspections.

Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office. Photo by Lee Seryung

The inspection revealed 76 violations, including: lending of office registration or qualification certificates, unlicensed brokerage, use of similar titles by brokerage assistants, failure to report employment of brokerage assistants, failure to display brokerage fee rate tables or guarantee certificates, and inadequate preparation of property explanation documents.

The relevant city, county, or district authorities, as the registration agencies, imposed administrative measures such as business suspension and fines for the violations. They also reported cases involving certificate lending and unregistered brokerage to investigative agencies for criminal prosecution.

In addition, the Gyeongnam Branch of the Korea Association of Realtors, which is entrusted with statutory education, plans to share major cases detected through realtor training programs and provide education to prevent recurrence.

Shin Jongwoo, Director of the Urban Housing Bureau, stated, "Every year, we conduct joint guidance and inspections of real estate brokerage offices with local governments and the Korea Association of Realtors. This year, due to the downturn in the real estate market, we focused more on guidance and education rather than strict enforcement," adding, "We will strengthen crackdowns on illegal activities to prevent transaction accidents and work to create a safe real estate transaction environment to protect residents' property rights."