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Busan Metropolitan City Conducts Special Joint Inspections of Real Estate Agencies Related to Relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced that the city will implement a “special joint inspection of real estate agencies” in cooperation with district special judicial police in relation to the relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (hereinafter “MOF”) to Busan.

This inspection has been arranged to prevent unlawful practices such as collusion in rental transactions and to block fraudulent lease activities that may arise with the relocation of MOF to Dong-gu, thereby securing a fair and sound real estate brokerage environment.

The inspection begins today (September 3) in Dong-gu and will continue until October in key districts such as Yeongdo-gu, Busanjin-gu, and Nam-gu, where there are concerns of collusion in rental transactions related to MOF’s relocation.

Specifically, the inspections will target 1,741 real estate agencies, including 168 in Dong-gu, 122 in Yeongdo-gu, 887 in Busanjin-gu, and 564 in Nam-gu.

The city will focus on identifying collusion in rental transactions and false property listings, while also promoting precautions during lease agreements and providing professional ethics training for brokers.

In addition, inspections will cover whether lease contracts involve prohibited acts under the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act, such as excessive commissions, false statements, and deceptive conduct. Other checks will include whether registration certificates and licenses are properly displayed, whether official seals are used in contracts, whether large-scale contracts are concluded with specific individuals in the same building, and whether transaction amounts match reported actual prices.

Violations of the penal provisions of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act detected during inspections will be referred to the special judicial police for investigation after securing evidence. For violations such as false property advertisements, failure to provide mandatory explanations of properties, or unreported employment of assistant agents, administrative sanctions will be imposed without prior guidance.

Meanwhile, Busan Metropolitan City is making various efforts to prevent lease fraud and to foster a sound real estate brokerage environment.

From the second half of this year, the city is designating 82 exemplary real estate agencies to provide free counseling services on safe lease contracts. Any citizen can receive consultations on matters such as precautions when entering into housing lease contracts and assistance in finding housing, either by phone or by visiting these designated agencies, in order to prevent fraudulent lease transactions.

Furthermore, each district is consistently carrying out educational campaigns on accident prevention in real estate transactions and broker professional ethics for licensed agents under their jurisdiction, making every effort to prevent lease fraud.

Min Soon-gi, Director General of Urban Spatial Planning, stated, “We recognize that collusion in rental transactions exploiting the relocation of public institutions can cause serious harm to the residential stability of citizens. We will resolutely eradicate illegal brokerage practices through swift and rigorous inspections and firmly safeguard a fair lease market.”