On the 23rd, Bok Gi-wang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea from Asan, Chungnam, and Kwon Young-jin, of the People Power Party from Daegu, jointly proposed a bill to grant the Korea Association of Realtors (KAR) the status of a legal organization. The intention is to prevent structural problems in the real estate market, such as charter fraud and unregistered brokerage, through a monitoring system centered on the association.
This revision aims to elevate the Korea Association of Realtors (hereinafter referred to as the association) from an informal organization to a legal entity,
and to establish a legal framework that supports the functions of guidance and supervision over the brokerage industry and ethics regulations, while also setting up a voluntary monitoring system. It stipulates that the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport must approve the establishment or amendment of the association's bylaws, and enacts professional ethics regulations to provide a legal basis for the association to fulfill a public role beyond being merely a professional organization.
Recently, as the issue of charter fraud victims has emerged as a social concern, various legislative amendments have been discussed, but criticism has been raised that the focus is on post-event response, resulting in limited actual prevention effects. In particular,
the failure to disclose the status of intermediary assistants and the inadequate descriptions of brokerage objects by brokers remain blind spots.
The revision was prepared to address these systemic limitations and aims to establish a prompt pre-management system centered around the association. The plan is to set up a dual monitoring system in cooperation between the government and the private sector.
Under the current law, the association has about 110,000 realtor members and has organized itself down to the city/county/district level; however, because it is not a legal body, it lacks substantial authority to guide and inspect unregistered brokerage activities, known as 'floating' speculation in real estate. If the revision passes, it is expected to regulate the misconduct of some realtors and contribute to the improvement of the real estate brokerage market.
Kwon Young-jin stated, "Recent real estate-related damages, such as charter fraud, 'empty charter,' and false advertising of listings, have surged, and there is a growing call for strengthening the professionalism of realtors." He added, "I hope that through this revision, management and supervision of realtors will be strengthened, allowing the public to conduct real estate transactions with confidence."
The joint proposal by Kwon Young-jin and Bok Gi-wang also has significant political implications. Amid extreme opposition between the ruling and opposition parties, it is unusual for the two sides to cooperate in jointly proposing a livelihood bill.
Bok Gi-wang emphasized, "We proposed this together with a shared understanding that there are no ruling or opposition parties in livelihood issues, and I will do my best to continue to deliver a hopeful message that the ruling and opposition parties are working together to solve these issues for the public."
Regarding this revision, both the ruling and opposition parties recognize it as a livelihood issue, so it is expected that a speedy consensus can be reached following the legislative review by the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee.