Korea's licensed real estate agents association calls for mandatory membership, self-disciplinary powers

Press conference marks 40th anniversary and transition to statutory body status

'Mandatory membership a prerequisite for complete consumer protection'

Association head warns proposed real estate supervisory agency would burden agents

Korea Association of Realtors Chairman Kim Jong-ho speaks at a press conference marking the association's 40th anniversary and its transition to statutory body status. [Korea Association of Realtors]

The Korea Association of Realtors, which regains its statutory body status Friday, said mandatory membership and self-disciplinary authority are essential to rooting out illegal and unethical conduct among licensed real estate agents.

Chairman Kim Jong-ho made the remarks Wednesday at a press conference at the association's central office in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, marking the organization's 40th anniversary and its transition to statutory body status. "This amendment to the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act is highly significant in that it establishes the broad framework for the association's conversion to a statutory body," he said.

The revised Licensed Real Estate Agents Act, which takes effect Friday, grants the Korea Association of Realtors statutory body status, establishes a general assembly within the association, and introduces requirements to adopt a code of ethics and carry out public-interest activities — all aimed at creating conditions to protect citizens' property rights and uphold order in real estate transactions.

"We will be able to present field-level opinions to the government and the National Assembly more systematically and participate as a responsible actor in improving the system," Kim said. "Our accountability will also be strengthened, as we must fulfill public duties spanning self-regulation, ethical standards, consumer protection, real estate transaction order and social contribution activities."

The headquarters of the Korea Association of Realtors in Bongcheon-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul. [Korea Association of Realtors]

The revised law, however, does not grant the association direct authority to discipline members or crack down on illegal brokerage practices. In response, Kim said mandatory membership is a prerequisite for delivering complete consumer protection. "Only when every licensed real estate agent participates within a single ethical and accountability framework can the public be guaranteed the same standard of ethics and responsibility no matter which brokerage office they visit," he said.

"The legal basis for establishing a code of ethics has been laid, but without substantive sanctions backing up violations by members, self-regulation will amount to nothing more than a declaration," Kim said. "Guidance is only possible when all licensed agents are part of the system, and disciplinary measures are only effective when there is authority to provide that guidance."

The association plans to build a self-regulatory framework based on a code of ethics to be drawn up with approval from the minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

On the government and ruling party's push to establish a dedicated real estate supervisory agency, Kim said the current oversight structure — which already involves the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and local governments — is sufficient, and that adding such a body would place an additional burden on licensed agents. "Once we become a statutory body, we will make autonomous efforts to self-correct, and incidents such as jeonse fraud will decrease dramatically," he said.

On the government's real estate policy more broadly, Kim added that the association's transition to statutory body status presents an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to narrowing the gap between policy and the market. "If the association regularly relays actual transaction trends from the field to the government and engages in discussions from the policy design stage, it can make a real contribution to reducing the disconnect between policy and market realities," he said.

lucky@heraldcorp.com