Suspected Violation of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act… Sent to Prosecution
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Jung Soo-yeon = On the 23rd, Seoul’s Civil Safety Investigation Department (CSID) announced that property owners J (60) and K (67) were booked on charges of violating the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act. They allegedly attempted to collude on house prices using a KakaoTalk open chat room and have been sent to the prosecution.
According to CSID, from May 2023 to June 2024, these individuals wrote messages in a group chat of apartment owners in Eunpyeong-gu A apartment complex to discourage others from listing their properties below a certain price, aiming to increase house prices.
J wrote messages such as “We set the market price,” and “You must ask for over 1 billion,” while K also posted messages like “Tell them you’ll sell if they pay 1.2 billion,” encouraging price inflation.
Additionally, they mentioned specific real estate offices in the chat, suggesting that they were “trying to secure sales at low prices to pocket the brokerage fees,” thereby interfering with the operations of licensed real estate agents.
If one uses online communities or other means to influence market prices unreasonably, inducing others not to list properties below a certain price, or obstructs the work of licensed real estate agents, they can face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won.
Choi Won-seok, Head of Seoul’s Civil Safety Investigation Department, stated, “Collusion over house prices distorts real estate values and threatens healthy trading practices. We will continue to conduct intensive investigations into such activities.”