The establishment of a field visit fee promoted by the Korea Association of Property Agents has been canceled. A field visit is an act of examining the area of interest and properties (houses, buildings, etc.) for real estate sales.
Recently, among members of real estate clubs, there has been a controversy surrounding the so-called 'field visit crew' who go on field visits without actually signing contracts. As a result, last month, the Korea Association of Property Agents stated it would make the introduction of a basic field visit compensation system a core task for the year. However, to introduce this field visit fee, amendments to the enforcement decree of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act are necessary, which the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has no plans to accept.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the real estate brokerage industry on the 28th, the Korea Association of Property Agents has not requested the Ministry to introduce the 'basic field visit compensation system' mentioned by Chairman Kim Jong-ho during a press briefing on April 23. Earlier, Chairman Kim noted, "We are trying to introduce a system where the field visit fee is deducted from the brokerage fee if a contract is concluded through consultation with a licensed real estate agent after receiving the field visit fee first." This means that when a consumer inspects a property through a brokerage office, they would pay a certain amount of field visit expense in advance, which would then be deducted from the brokerage fee once a contract is signed.
However, a month has passed since the announcement of the push to introduce the field visit fee, but discussions with the government about the introduction plan have not taken place. An official from the Korea Association of Property Agents stated, "There is negative feedback suggesting that real estate agents intend to receive field visit fees for monetary gain, and there are currently people who have complaints about brokerage fees, making it difficult for the public to accept the field visit fee culturally," adding, "Formal proposals to the Ministry require further internal review."
The Ministry also has a stance that introducing the field visit fee is difficult. Director Kim Dong-jun stated, "We have a negative position on the introduction of a field visit fee and are not considering it."
The controversy over the field visit fee arises from the low brokerage fee structure compared to overseas and the spread of field visit culture primarily among the 2030 generation. The enforcement decree of the Real Estate Brokerage Act stipulates a legal upper limit for brokerage fees based on the type of transaction and the transaction amount.
In the case of sales and exchanges, a fee of 0.4-0.7% of the transaction amount can be charged, and for leases, 0.3-0.5% can be charged. Compared to the United States (3-6%) and Japan (3%), this is significantly lower. Additionally, as the real estate investment boom spreads, field visit gatherings are increasing where people inspect properties at brokerage offices without an intention to buy, sell, or lease. In online communities, individuals with field visit experience are selling services to recruit others to join field visits for a fee.
Kim In-man, head of the Kim In-man Real Estate Economic Research Institute, stated, "It is difficult for the government to reflect the association's position in the introduction of a field visit fee that many people feel uncomfortable with, and realistically, when brokerage offices that do and do not charge a field visit fee compete, people may flock to those that do not charge, making it unfeasible."
Kim added, "However, there is a need to spread a culture that understands the difficulties faced by licensed real estate agents who must show homes over 30 times to finalize a contract and considers it natural to pay a fair price for service industries, like in other countries."