Seoul's Gwangjin-gu district is conducting a "2026 Real Estate Brokerage Office Online Self-Inspection" from Wednesday through Oct. 31 to promote sound real estate transaction practices and prevent brokerage accidents.
The self-inspection regime requires licensed real estate agents to review their own compliance with relevant laws and general business practices, and to voluntarily correct any shortcomings. The program aims to strengthen agents' sense of responsibility and prevent brokerage accidents before they occur, so that residents can conduct real estate transactions with confidence.
More than 880 brokerage offices in the district are subject to the inspection. Licensed brokers can participate by accessing the self-inspection page on the Gwangjin-gu district office website, completing identity verification and submitting a self-assessment checklist directly online.
The checklist covers 34 items drawn from recently revised laws and essential compliance requirements that are easy to overlook in day-to-day brokerage work.
Key areas include whether agents provide supporting documentation — such as trust registers and building registers — to help prevent jeonse fraud, or "lease deposit" fraud; disclosure obligations regarding management fees and brokerage commissions for small-scale housing and officetels; compliance with rules on false or misleading online listings and advertisements; and adherence to regulations on hiring brokerage assistants and prohibitions on lending real estate licenses.
To encourage broad participation, the district sent text message notices to licensed agents and publicized the self-inspection through the KakaoTalk channel "Gwangjin-gu Bokjugo Deoksanneun Budongsan Bang" and the Korea Association of Realtors.
The district also made a printable self-inspection form available for download on its website, allowing older agents less comfortable with online services to complete and submit the form by fax.
Gwangjin-gu plans to follow up with on-site visits, guidance and administrative instruction for any brokerage offices found to have compliance gaps or that do not participate in the self-inspection.
"This self-inspection will give licensed agents an opportunity to review their own practices, familiarize themselves with recently revised laws and correct any deficiencies," district mayor Kim Kyong-ho said. "We will continue to do our utmost to build a safe and transparent brokerage environment where residents can conduct real estate transactions with peace of mind."
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