Unlicensed lodging operators in Seoul are using office and mixed-use buildings to skirt regulation, evading detection by making their listings only visible to people with overseas accounts.
A corridor in an office-only building in Seogye-dong in Yongsan District, central Seoul, is pictured on Aug. 12. Some units were reportedly used as illegal accommodations for tourists.LEE AH-MI
Illegal lodging operators are exploiting a legal loophole to rent out office buildings and mixed-purpose properties to tourists across Seoul, dodging regulators by hiding their listings from domestic users while advertising freely to overseas guests.
On several nights, a tenant in an office building in Seogye-dong in Yongsan District, central Seoul, heard someone trying to unlock their front door. From inside, they could hear strangers repeatedly tapping numbers on the keypad. What initially sounded like intruders trying to get in turned out to be guests of anillegal lodging facility who had mistaken the office for their rental.
“I’m on the second floor, and about half of the seven units [on the floor] are used as illegal accommodations for tourists,” the tenant told the JoongAng Ilbo on Aug. 12. “I understand that there are even more on the third, fourth and fifth floors.”
The property is designated only for office use, according to the building registry. Under the Building Act, it cannot legally be operated as a lodging facility.
After months of disruption, the tenant filed multiple complaints with the district office, complete with photos and videos. But little changed.
“Even when officials come to inspect [the building] during the day, there is little that they can do if no one is there, and they have no legal authority to force their way in,” the tenant said. “One unit even had a notice on its front door, telling guests not to answer or come out if anyone knocked.”
Police who responded to a noise complaint from another tenant also found signs that some units were being used as illegal accommodations.
Law enforcement suspects that operators may have evaded detection by making their listings invisible to users with Korean accounts on accommodation platforms while allowing them to appear to overseas accounts.
A tourist pushes suitcases through an alley in Seogye-dong in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Aug. 12.LEE AH-MI
Several illegal lodging accommodations also operate openly in multiple officetels (dual-purpose buildings used for commercial and residential purposes) around Seogye-dong, the tenant said.
When the JoongAng Ilbo visited the neighborhood on Aug. 12, tourists could easily be spotted wheeling large suitcases through narrow alleys and in and out of officetels. The area’s proximity to Seoul Station makes it particularly convenient for travelers.
Illegal accommodations have proliferated to the point that their true scale is difficult to gauge. Licensed lodging operators say that the unchecked competition is hurting their business.
“I frequently saw tourists entering and leaving officetels […] but I never knew whether those places were legal,” a guesthouse owner in the area said. “Business is already sluggish during the offseason. It makes me angry to think that we’re losing guests to operators who aren’t even licensed.”
A total of 95 cases involving illegal lodging businesses were booked last year, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
Additionally, police busted 357 unregistered illegal lodging businesses from January 2020 through August last year, or five years and eight months, according to Seoul city government data revealed in September of last year. Of those, 98.3 percent, or 351 businesses, had been listed on online accommodation platforms.
Tourists with their suitcases in the Hongdae neighborhood in western Seoul on Aug. 6YONHAP
Under current law, accommodation businesses must register their operations with the relevant district office under the Public Health Control Act or the Tourism Promotion Act. Illegal operators, however, continue to take in guests without following the required procedures.
Such illegal accommodations often operate outside regular safety and sanitation oversight. Some lack adequate fire safety equipment, which puts guests at greater risk of fires and other accidents. Tourists may also face greater difficulty when seeking protection or compensation after an accident.
“Using a property for lodging without authorization could violate the Building Act, and running an unregistered accommodation business could lead to criminal penalties under the Public Health Control Act,” attorney Cho Shin-young said.
“If operators also hide their unlicensed listings from domestic users, collect payments under other people’s names and fail to report their revenue, they could potentially face tax evasion issues as well.”
A representative of a property-sharing platform for travelers noted that their company has “required hosts to submit valid business registration certificates before they can list their properties [in Korea] on the platform.”
“Illegal accommodations are no longer listed on our domestic platform and cannot be booked,” the representative said.
Update, Aug. 24, 2026: Changed classification of lodging businesses and added statement from a property-sharing platform representative.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
