Real Estate Agent Exam Changes to 'Relative Evaluation'... Will Passers Significantly Decrease?

Certified Real Estate Agent Exam Shifts from Absolute to Relative Evaluation
Annual Passers Expected to Drop Significantly by 10,000-20,000
Concerns Over Service Quality Decline Due to Reduced Competition
Government Plans Gradual Improvements Considering Examinee Confusion

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The government has decided to pursue a plan to change the real estate agent licensing exam from an absolute evaluation system to a relative evaluation system in order to adjust the number of successful candidates. However, since an immediate change in the exam method could cause significant confusion among examinees, a phased reform is being considered.

On the 20th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the finalized "Improvement Plan for Real Estate Brokerage Fees and Brokerage Services," which includes this content.

First, the government will review institutional improvements aimed at adjusting the difficulty level of the real estate agent exam and introducing relative evaluation. Currently, the real estate agent exam is conducted under an absolute evaluation system. There is no fixed number of successful candidates, and each year about 10,000 to 20,000 candidates pass, leading to criticism within the industry that competition has become excessively fierce.

Recently, due to the rapid rise in housing prices, the number of applicants for the real estate agent exam has also significantly increased. For the 32nd real estate agent exam, which closed registration on the 13th, 408,492 people applied, an increase of 65,481 from last year’s 343,011. This is the highest number of applicants since the real estate agent system was introduced.

Accordingly, organizations such as the Korea Association of Realtors have long argued that the exam should switch to a relative evaluation system to control supply and demand. However, there has been strong opposition in the market, with concerns that a reduction in the number of successful candidates could lower the quality of brokerage services, so the change has not been easily implemented. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was initially negative about switching to relative evaluation but is now interpreted to have accepted it as a carrot in response to the reduction of brokerage fees.

However, the Ministry plans to reform the system gradually, considering that an immediate switch to relative evaluation could cause significant confusion among current examinees.

A cap system for brokerage assistants will be introduced. The Ministry plans to implement a limit on the number of brokerage assistants hired per real estate office, considering the number of licensed real estate agents at each office. The industry has long pointed out that some offices indiscriminately hire brokerage assistants and engage in illegal brokerage activities, causing confusion. Accordingly, the government will actively crack down on illegal brokerage activities by unqualified personnel and certificate lending through cooperation with local governments, associations, and other related organizations.

To strengthen the professionalism of real estate agents, a performance evaluation system for commissioned education will also be introduced. To enhance the connection between practical work and education, specialized and professional education by sector such as housing, land, and commercial properties will be promoted. Additionally, education will be provided to improve real estate agents’ ability to utilize new technologies such as proptech, laying the foundation for creating added value for agents.

On the 17th, ahead of the real estate brokerage commission reform, property listings are posted at a real estate agency in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The brokerage industry will establish a foundation to enhance competitiveness so that it can provide comprehensive real estate services. First, to facilitate market entry of competitive brokerage corporations, the legally mandated minimum capital requirement, currently set at 50 million KRW, will be raised. Furthermore, regulatory improvements such as easing restrictions on concurrent business for brokerage corporations will be reviewed to encourage corporations to provide comprehensive real estate services.

Considering recent conflicts arising from proptech companies like Zigbang entering the brokerage business, a consultative body will be formed to promote cooperation between the existing offline brokerage industry and the proptech sector. The consultative body will consist of the government, local governments, brokerage industry, proptech industry, experts, and civic groups, and will introduce collaboration models between industries.

In line with these improvement plans, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will immediately begin the legislative notice process for amendments to the "Enforcement Rules of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act" and will also circulate recommendations to revise brokerage fee ordinances to each city and province. Even if ordinances are not revised, the reform plan based on the amendment of enforcement rules will apply, but if ordinances are revised, the changes can be applied even before the enforcement rules are amended.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.