Violations of realtors' disclosure duty up 4.6-fold in 3 years amid jeonse fraud concerns

Licensed real estate agents are legally required to explain key property information — including priority liens and ownership rights — to clients as a safeguard against jeonse fraud, but violations of that duty have surged more than fourfold over the past three years, data show.

According to data submitted to People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-beom of the National Assembly's Land and Transportation Committee by the Korea Real Estate Board, 724 cases of "insincere explanation of brokered properties" were recorded from 2023 through the end of July this year.

The annual figures show a sharp upward trend: 44 cases in 2023, when the scope of the real estate transaction order violation reporting center was expanded, rising to 135 in 2024 and 298 in 2025. Through July this year, the count had already reached 247 — a 461 percent increase over the full-year 2023 total, the first year the category was tracked.

Under the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act, practicing agents must accurately and faithfully explain to tenants the condition and location of a property, its rights structure — including ownership, jeonse rights, mortgages, superficies and lease rights — and whether the landlord has any outstanding tax arrears, and must provide supporting documents such as certified copies and trust registers.

Despite legislative efforts to spell out agents' disclosure obligations in greater detail, critics say tenants remain exposed to risk after signing contracts because verification of priority deposits and rights structures is still often inadequate.

"The duty of licensed real estate agents to verify and explain property details is a core system for protecting tenants' deposits and preventing transaction disputes," Yoo said. "There is a need to establish reasonable administrative sanction standards for those who deliberately omit priority rights information or repeatedly provide false explanations."

Looking at the major categories of real estate transaction order violations under the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act since 2021, "prohibited acts by licensed real estate agents" — including false statements on material transaction matters — topped the list at 763 cases, followed by "price collusion" at 729 cases. Among categories tracked since 2023, "insincere explanation of brokered properties" recorded the highest number.