Korea Association of Licensed Real Estate Agents to Amend Articles and Establish Ethics Code... Gains Public Trust after Approval by Ministry of Land

Final Institutional Reforms Underway Ahead of Regaining Statutory Status in August
Amendments to Articles of Association in Final Stage
General Meeting of Delegates to Deliberate and Vote at End of Month

The Korea Association of Licensed Real Estate Agents, which has 97% of domestic licensed real estate agents as members, is entering the final stage of institutional reform ahead of regaining its legal status as a statutory organization this August.

The Korea Association of Certified Realtors held a resolution rally for the eradication of jeonse fraud and the strengthening of the association's capabilities on March 7, 2023, at the Transportation Hall in Songpa District, Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

According to the real estate industry on June 16, the Korea Association of Licensed Real Estate Agents plans to hold a general meeting of delegates at the end of this month to deliberate and vote on amendments to its articles of association and the establishment of a new code of ethics, which are essential steps toward becoming a statutory organization. This meeting is a follow-up to the passage of the partial amendment to the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act by the National Assembly plenary session on January 29.

If the amendments pass at the general meeting, the association will submit the final version to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. After obtaining approval from the minister, the association will officially regain its status as a statutory organization starting in August. This comes 27 years after it was converted to a voluntary organization following the 1998 foreign exchange crisis.

This is significant in that ethical standards, which until now were merely internal rules within the association, will be officially recognized by a government agency. It is expected to strengthen the real estate agent industry's capacity for self-regulation, which has been undermined by recent jeonse fraud cases, and ultimately to provide an opportunity to restore public trust in licensed real estate agents.

The core of the amendment is to grant greater representation and accountability to the association. By giving the association legal status, its autonomous regulatory powers have been strengthened, enabling it to crack down on illegal brokerage activities and disruptions to real estate transaction order among practitioners. As the association's authority expands, oversight and supervision by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will also be further strengthened.

The launch of the statutory organization is expected to bring tangible changes to the real estate market. The association plans to establish a public support system to protect its member agents by officially responding to indiscriminate direct transactions and large platforms. In addition, the association will work with the government to build a joint management system for agent training, ethics, and qualification management, aiming to close regulatory loopholes in the market.

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