Seoul Detects New Type of Illegal Real Estate Advertising Targeting Young People

Unqualified Posts of Real Estate Ads Online
New Hires and Part-Time Workers in Their 20s and 30s
Two Referred to Prosecutors Last Month

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Affairs Police Bureau announced on October 5 that it had detected individuals who are not licensed real estate agents posting information such as commercial property deposits and rents online as real estate transaction conditions and referred two advertisers to the prosecution on charges of violating the Licensed Real Estate Agent Act.

Cases of illegal real estate listings and advertisements by unqualified individuals posted on online cafes. A fictional example reconstructed from actual online cafe posts. Seoul City

In this case, employees in their 20s and 30s who were new hires or part-time workers not engaged in the real estate brokerage business posted online advertisements at the direction of their consulting agency supervisors or at the request of acquaintances. These individuals are accused of posting advertisements containing specific transaction conditions such as deposits and monthly rents without having received any training on relevant real estate laws and regulations.

Article 18-2, Paragraph 3 of the Licensed Real Estate Agent Act prohibits anyone who is not a licensed real estate agent from listing or advertising properties subject to brokerage. Anyone who is not a licensed real estate agent and who lists or advertises a property to carry out brokerage activities can be punished by up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won under the Licensed Real Estate Agent Act.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to use this case as an opportunity to propose improvements to the relevant system so that business owners who instruct advertisers to post illegal advertisements—due to their own negligence—will receive the same sanctions as those posting the ads.

Meanwhile, any member of the public who witnesses or falls victim to illegal real estate activities can report them via smartphone apps or the Seoul Metropolitan Government website. If a report or tip-off of criminal activity contributes to the public interest, a reward of up to 200 million won may be granted in accordance with the Seoul Metropolitan Government's ordinance on the protection and support of public interest whistleblowers.

Changseok Lee, Director General of the Civil Affairs Police Bureau at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, emphasized, "It is easy to regard the work of posting online real estate advertisements as a simple task, but if an unqualified person lists or advertises properties with specific details such as deposits or monthly rents, it can be a criminal offense subject to prosecution. Business owners must thoroughly brief employees on relevant laws before assigning advertising work, and workers themselves must carefully review the content of advertisements before posting to avoid unintended legal violations and penalties."

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