Prosecutors moved to respond in step with the government's stance to root out market-disrupting conduct and illegal speculation in the real estate market.
According to industry and legal circles on the 19th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office recently sent unified work guidelines to Prosecution Service offices nationwide, ordering them to actively respond to illegal acts related to real estate.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office assessed that crimes undermining order in real estate transactions, including apartment price collusion, illegal conduct by brokers, false transaction reports, and fraudulent subscription applications, have been occurring frequently in recent days. It also noted that scheme-based speculation using farmland, corruption related to reconstruction, and jeonse fraud are continuing, damaging the market's transparency and fairness.
Accordingly, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office urgently designated a total of 206 dedicated prosecutors and investigators at 60 district prosecutors' offices and branches nationwide. If illegal acts are detected, it will operate a "responsible investigation system" in which these specialists oversee every step of the criminal process, from directing investigations to indictment and maintaining the prosecution.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office also said that offenders with egregious culpability—such as those seeking unfair capital gains or repeatedly filing false reports—should be brought to court without suspension and that prosecutors should press the bench to impose hefty fines. In particular, when a licensed real estate agent is caught participating in illegal transactions, prosecutors plan to notify the relevant local government of the violation so that administrative penalties such as license suspension or registration revocation can be imposed immediately.
Cooperation with police will be further tightened. To maximize investigative efficiency, prosecutors will operate a standing consultation channel with police and support training programs that pass on professional investigative techniques to special judicial police (teuk-sagyeong) affiliated with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport or local governments.
The government is proceeding with legislation to establish the Real Estate Supervisory Service, a specialized body to oversee and investigate illegal acts in the real estate market. Also, from the 14th for three days, it held public forums on dwelling supply, finance, and tax reform to hear citizens' views, and on the 23rd it plans to hold a large-scale policy forum chaired directly by President Lee.