Realtors’ association: “57% hike in property registry search fee should be withdrawn”
- Input
- 2026-10-13 15:23:43
- Updated
- 2026-10-13 15:23:43
According to the association on the 13th, it and practicing real estate agents called in a joint statement issued on the 12th for online viewing and issuance of certificates of registered matters to be made free of charge.
On the 28th of last month, the National Court Administration of the Supreme Court gave legislative notice of a draft partial amendment to the Rules on Fees for Certificates of Registered Matters, etc. The proposal would raise the online viewing fee by 57.1%, from the current 700 won to 1,100 won, and the issuance fee by 40%, from 1,000 won to 1,400 won.
The National Court Administration cited as reasons for the proposed amendment that, with fees frozen for a long time, inflation had increased labor and operating costs while fee revenue had fallen, making it difficult to secure the funding needed to provide stable registry services.
The association called the proposal “an unjustified measure that throws cold water on rental deposit fraud prevention policy and adds to the burden on ordinary people,” and demanded its withdrawal. It said that raising the cost of accessing relevant public information was inconsistent with policy when the government was emphasizing the need to check rights and interests before and after a contract.
The association also raised the issue that real estate registers lack legally recognized public credibility. It argued that it was unfair to raise the cost of accessing information when the state bears no legal responsibility even if an incident occurs based on the contents of a register.
According to data from the National Assembly Budget Office and the National Court Administration cited by the association, the number of electronic registry record views and issuances rose at least sevenfold, from about 21.87 million in 2017 to 157.66 million in 2023. Fee revenue over the past five years totaled about 430 billion won.
In 2023, 99.97% of all registry views were conducted online, while in-person views accounted for just 0.026%. The association argued that there was insufficient justification for a fee increase, since the network has incurred almost no additional costs since it was established and users also pay for the paper and toner.
The association also countered the National Court Administration’s argument against making access free of charge, which was that the benefits could be concentrated among certain professional groups, such as licensed real estate agents, judicial scriveners and banks. It said agents check for changes in rights at a minimum of four to five stages, from advertising a listing through a preliminary agreement, the main contract, and payment of the interim and final installments, as part of the process of protecting tenants’ deposits.
The association noted that higher fees could also increase listing-verification costs for real estate platforms and other transaction-related expenses, potentially passing the burden on to young people without homes and tenants of modest means.
The association also pointed out that resident registration certificates and abstracts, building registers, land registers and family relationship certificates are available online free of charge. It said that charging a fee only for certificates of registered matters, unlike other public records, and raising that fee was inconsistent with administrative equity.
The association proposed that if making online access free reduces revenue for the Special Account for Registry, the shortfall should be addressed by increasing transfers from the general account. According to a cost estimate by the National Assembly Budget Office, free online access is expected to reduce fee revenue by an annual average of about 74.5 billion to 96.5 billion won over the next five years.
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter