Punishment Now Possible for Real Estate 'Fake News'... Legal Basis Established for Land Compensation Enforcement Penalties

Imprisonment Possible for Spreading False Information on Development Plans

Mandatory Verification of Poster Identity on Online Direct Real Estate Listings

Enforcement Charges for "Holdouts" at Public Project Sites After Compensation

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On May 8, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that the National Assembly had passed an amendment to the Act on Report of Real Estate Transactions and Others (the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act) the previous day. The amendment prohibits the dissemination of unconfirmed development plans through platforms such as YouTube or social networking services (SNS) as if they were facts.

This amendment is a policy bill promoted by the Lee Jaemyung administration as a national agenda to eradicate disruptions in the real estate market. The government plans to strictly punish acts that disturb the market with false information and cause harm to ordinary citizens, while accelerating stagnant public projects to realize improved housing welfare for the public.

Under the revised law, anyone found providing false or distorted development information to induce transactions will face up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.

Regulations on online direct real estate listings will also be strengthened. Operators of online direct transaction platforms will be required to directly verify the identity of the poster and their relationship with the property owner. Failure to comply will result in a fine of up to 5 million won. The intention is to prevent non-face-to-face scams targeting consumers with limited access to information and to enhance consumer protection.

The plenary session also passed an amendment to the Land Compensation Act to prevent delays in public projects. Now, if compensation has been completed following an expropriation decision, but the obligated party refuses to vacate or deliver the property, the administrative authority is authorized to impose a compulsory performance charge. This measure is expected to resolve chronic issues caused by some owners delaying public housing supply or the expansion of infrastructure such as roads. However, the compulsory performance charge will only be applied to cases where the start date for expropriation or use occurs after the law goes into effect.

An amendment to the National Land Planning Act aimed at reducing donation disputes between businesses and local governments was also passed. When a business creates new public facilities such as roads and transfers them to a local government, the scope of existing public facilities that the business can acquire free of charge as compensation will be clearly defined by Presidential Decree. In addition, a clear legal basis has been established to set up separate surface rights for three-dimensional urban planning facilities, such as underground parking lots installed in parts of a land parcel. This is expected to make it easier to install and operate facilities that utilize only part of a property without purchasing the entire lot.

The provisions of the amended Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act prohibiting the dissemination of false information, as well as the National Land Planning Act and related regulations, will take effect six months after promulgation. The verification obligations for platform operators will be applied one year after promulgation, taking into account the time needed to establish the necessary systems.

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