The Korea Association of Licensed Real Estate Agents noted, "Currently, the Korea Association of Licensed Real Estate Agents is a voluntary organization, so there are no restrictions when a licensed real estate agent starts a business. We must resolve the gaps in management and statistics to address social issues like lease fraud and the harms of direct real estate transactions."
Kim Jong-ho, who took office as the 14th president of the Korea Association of Licensed Real Estate Agents (hereafter referred to as the Association), made this remark during a press conference held at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 23rd.
Kim highlighted that, amid the recent stagnation in the real estate market, the number of licensed real estate agents starting businesses is increasing, and the Korea Association of Licensed Real Estate Agents, the largest qualification organization in the country, is committed to eradicating illegal unregistered brokerage activities and preventing fraud arising from direct transactions.
Kim stated, "Currently, most licensed professionals in South Korea, including lawyers, certified public accountants, labor consultants, legal consultants, tax accountants, and appraisers, are members of legally defined organizations, which maintain the organization’s credibility and perform public functions through mandatory membership. However, the Association, originally established as a legally defined entity in 1986, lost its regulatory power when it changed to a voluntary organization in 1999. The entire real estate brokerage market is losing trust and safety due to the deviant behaviors of some licensed real estate agents."
In addition, he revealed plans to expand internal guidance checks and joint inspections with institutions to prevent future lease fraud and direct trading damages.
He also pointed out that the number of new registrations for licensed real estate agents is increasingly declining due to the stagnation in the real estate market, and that over 20,000 cases of business closures and suspensions occur annually, with direct real estate platforms like Carrot emerging, exacerbating the difficulties for licensed real estate agents. Regarding this, Kim noted, "The damage to consumers from direct real estate transactions could greatly affect the survival of the Association, leading to increased concerns among member brokers. We are brainstorming ways to minimize damages caused by direct transactions not only related to Carrot but also other real estate brokerage platforms."
He also stated that he plans to propose policies to the government aimed at easing transaction taxes such as capital gains tax and acquisition tax, as well as relaxing regulations on housing collateral loans for residential purposes, to normalize the real estate market. He also mentioned the necessity of concurrently promoting initiatives to invigorate local real estate markets to address the phenomenon of demand concentration concentrated in the Seoul area.
The Association presented key initiatives to realize its vision of being "a mutually beneficial partner leading the development of the real estate market based on fairness and trust," including strengthening the social role of licensed real estate agents, expanding support projects for brokerage fees for the vulnerable, operating a report center for lease fraud and illegal brokerage, introducing ESG management in the Association, and resuming the production and service of the Real Estate Price Index (KARIS) that had been temporarily suspended. Additionally, they announced plans to expand the monitoring range to single-family and multi-family dwellings by enhancing the existing abnormal transaction detection system within this year.
During a Q&A session at the conference, when asked how the previously announced real estate price index would be improved, Kim replied, "There was confusion due to significant fluctuations in last year's announcement. Subsequently, we completed the development of KARIS in January based on data from contracts written by licensed real estate agents that the Association possesses," adding, "We are currently in the verification phase, and the government will carry out the first verification by August this year, aiming to announce it within a year if there are no issues after discussions." He further remarked, "The newly developed KARIS has features that can complement the actual transaction price index for the previous month, which the Korea Real Estate Board was unable to provide."
Earlier, the Association unveiled KARIS, stating that it would provide real transaction statistics approximately one month faster than the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport based on over 53 million transaction and lease agreements held by the Association. In the first housing market statistics released by KARIS, it was revealed that the price of apartments in Seoul rose by 2.4% in July last year, then fell by 4.5% in August. This starkly contrasted with the figures announced by the Korea Real Estate Board under the Ministry, which reported a 1.19% increase in July and a 1.27% increase in August, leading to criticisms that it exacerbated market confusion. Consequently, the Association suspended statistical releases after August and embarked on developing a new index.
Kim concluded by stating, "As a professional qualification organization responsible for ensuring the safety of real estate transactions for the public, we will do our best to transform into a fair and competent institution."