10-Point Checklist Before Signing a Lease — The Basics of Preventing Jeonse Fraud

The property register: how to read the Gap-gu and Eul-gu sections first

The first thing to do is to have the tenant personally obtain and check the property register (certified copy of the registered particulars, deung-gi-bu deung-bon). Rather than simply trusting the documents the landlord or agent shows you, it's safer to pull the latest copy yourself from the Supreme Court Internet Registry Office (iros.go.kr). The register is broadly divided into three parts.

• The heading section (pyoje-bu) — shows 'what this property is,' such as the building's address, area, and structure. Cross-check that it exactly matches the address and unit number written on the contract.
• The Gap-gu section — shows 'who the owner is' and matters that threaten ownership. Confirm that the current owner is the same person as your counterpart in the contract, and that there are no dangerous entries such as seizure, provisional seizure, commencement of auction, or provisional registration.
• The Eul-gu section — records rights other than ownership, especially the mortgage (geun-jeodang-gwon) and jeonse right (jeonse-gwon). How much debt is secured against the house appears here.

Mortgage, senior priority, opposing power, and preferential reimbursement—in plain terms

The terms feel difficult, but you only need to grasp the essentials.

• Mortgage (geun-jeodang-gwon): the landlord has borrowed money from a bank or the like and put up the house as collateral. It's recorded in the Eul-gu as a figure called the "maximum claim amount (chaegwon-choego-aek)," which is usually set considerably higher than the actual debt, so you should regard it as a corresponding burden.
• Senior priority (seon-sun-wi): rights have an order based on which was established first. If there is a mortgage or another tenant established ahead of your deposit, then if the house goes to auction they are paid out first, and you recover your share only from what remains.
• Opposing power (daehang-ryeok): the power to assert to a new owner, even if the landlord changes, that 'I will live here until the end of my contract and get my deposit back.'
• Preferential reimbursement right (us-eon-byeonje-gwon): the right to be reimbursed your deposit ahead of other creditors when an auction or public sale takes place.

The way to secure these two rights (opposing power and preferential reimbursement) is exactly the move-in report and fixed-date registration explained just below.

Market price and deposit ratio — how to spot an 'underwater' lease

A case where the deposit is pressed right up against—or exceeds—the sale-market price, on top of which the landlord's loans are also stacked, is commonly called a 'kkangtong jeonse' (underwater lease). This is because if the house goes to auction and sells for less than market price, the sale proceeds may fall short of repaying both the senior loans and the deposit. Generally you look at the ratio that the deposit plus senior loans (the maximum claim amount) makes up of the house price, and the lower this ratio, the safer it's considered. It's commonly said that you should be cautious once it exceeds around 70–80%, but this is only a rough gauge and changes with region, building type, and market conditions, so it should never be treated as an absolute standard. Be sure to cross-check the surrounding actual transaction prices through systems such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual-transaction-price disclosure system, and be even more careful with newly built houses or villas where the market price is hard to gauge.

Be especially careful with listings like these

If even one of the signs below appears, don't rush the contract—verify once more. The more of them overlap, the greater the risk.

• A listing with an excessive deposit relative to market price — Be especially wary when the deposit approaches the sale price in newly built villas or officetels where the market price is hard to confirm.
• A house held under a trust registration (sintak deung-gi) — If ownership has been transferred to a trust company, the owner on the register and the person actually authorized to dispose of the property may differ. In this case a contract made without the consent of the trust company (the trustee) may be hard to protect, so you need to check even the trust register (sintak-wonbu) and consult an expert.
• A contract where an agent, not the landlord, appears — Check the power of attorney, seal certificate, and ID, and if possible confirm the intent to contract directly with the landlord by phone or video.
• A multi-household house (dagagu) with many senior tenants — In a multi-household house where several households live in one building, the deposits of tenants who moved in before you all take senior priority. You must find out the total amount of prior deposits through the resident-registration listing (jeonip-sedae yeollam) and the status of fixed-date registrations.

When signing — do it this way

• Sign with the landlord in person, and always transfer the down payment and balance to an account in the name of the owner on the register.
• Consider adding to the special terms a protective clause to the effect that 'no new rights such as a mortgage will be established until the day after the balance-payment date.'
• If you go through a licensed real estate agent, obtain the confirmation and explanation statement on the brokered property and the mutual-aid certificate, and verify the qualifications of the practicing agent.
• Checking whether the building is an illegal structure through the building ledger (geonchungmul daejang) adds further safety.

Right after signing — the difference in roles between fixed-date registration and the move-in report

The two are easy to confuse because their names are similar, but their roles differ.

• The move-in report (jeonip-singo) is the procedure of officially registering the fact that 'I actually live in this house,' and when actual residence (occupancy) is added to it, opposing power arises.
• Fixed-date registration (hwakjeong-ilja) officially stamps a date on the contract to prove that 'this contract existed at this point in time,' and combined with opposing power it becomes the reference rank for the preferential reimbursement right.

In other words, if you only file the move-in report and miss the fixed-date registration, you may be at a disadvantage in the payout order, and vice versa. On the very day you move, handle both together. The move-in report can be done at Government24 (gov.kr) or a community service center, and the fixed-date registration at a community service center or the Internet Registry Office. Even a single day's delay can push your rank behind rights established in the meantime, so don't put it off.

An extra layer of protection for your deposit

Jeonse deposit return guarantee (jeonse bojeunggeum banhwan bojeung) is a program in which, when the landlord fails to return the deposit, a guarantee institution pays it instead, run by bodies such as the Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG). The enrollment requirements, guarantee limit, and premium rate differ by housing type, deposit size, and institution, so before signing it's best to inquire directly with the relevant institution and first confirm whether enrollment is possible under your conditions. If a listing is refused enrollment outright, that fact itself may be a warning sign.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. Do I only need to check the property register once, at signing?

No. It's safer to obtain and check it again at the time of signing and also on the very day you pay the balance. This is because between the contract and the balance date the landlord could take out a new loan and add a mortgage.

Q. Is my deposit safe as long as I get the fixed-date registration?

The fixed-date registration alone is not enough. It becomes meaningful only when you secure opposing power through actual residence (occupancy) and the move-in report and secure your preferential reimbursement rank with the fixed-date registration. However, if there are many senior claims ahead of you, full recovery may be difficult even with these rights, so checking the legal rights before signing is fundamental.

Q. If a problem arises or the judgment is difficult, where should I ask?

Don't judge alone—get help from official channels. You can use the legal counseling of the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (dial 132, no area code), the guidance on return guarantees and jeonse fraud from the Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), and your local government's lease counseling desk. If you're worried about jeonse-fraud damage, it's important to promptly contact the relevant government support channel.

In short, checking the property register (Gap-gu and Eul-gu), reviewing the deposit-to-market-price ratio, and the move-in report with fixed-date registration are the most basic lines of defense against jeonse fraud. Don't rush the contract; sign only after you've verified everything there is to verify. The above is general guidance, and an accurate judgment on your individual case must always be confirmed through consultation with a specialized institution.