39 booked in illegal housing subscription account trading

Police have booked 39 people for illegally trading housing subscription accounts, which are required to apply for new apartments, as part of an ongoing crackdown on real estate speculation, officials said Wednesday.

In Korea, many newly built apartments are allocated to subscription account holders through a points system that favors applicants who have gone longer without owning a home, have more dependents and have held their accounts longer.

The accused brokers purchased accounts with high winning potential for 30 million ($22,340) to 50 million won each between March 2024 and 2025, and after successfully winning apartment purchase rights, they resold them at a premium in violation of the Housing Act.

Violators face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won, along with the cancellation of their housing contracts and forfeiture of their down payments.

Kim Yong-soo, second vice minister for government policy coordination, presided over a meeting Wednesday of the committee on real estate speculation and asked authorities to thoroughly inspect potential illegalities in apartment redevelopment or reconstruction projects to protect innocent applicants.

Yonhap