Recently, at work, I encountered a very interesting case that I wanted to elaborate on so that foreigners in Korea know for the future.

A girl signed a one-year apartment lease. The contract was signed through a Korean "pudongsan," and upon moving in, in addition to the deposit, rent, and advance payment, the "pudongsan" charged their brokerage fee, which is called 중개수수료 in Korean.

Due to circumstances, the girl needed to move out, but there were still six months left on her contract. Therefore, she found new tenants who could live in her place so she could terminate the contract with the landlord without any issues. However, the landlord then asked the girl to pay the brokerage fee to the "pudongsan" again. While communicating with the new tenants who were supposed to move in, the girl learned that the new tenants also had to pay a brokerage fee.

Our protagonist thought that the landlady was trying to deceive her and charge a brokerage fee without reason, despite the fact that the new tenants would also be paying a fee.

Before I tell you how the story ended, let me give you some background on how "pudongsans" work and what role they play in Korea.

Realtors in CIS Countries:

In CIS countries, many people hold the opinion that realtors are unnecessary. This opinion is prevalent in our countries because often only the tenant pays the realtor's commission. In practice, it turns out that the tenant finds the apartment themselves, views it themselves, negotiates the price with the landlord themselves, and goes to a notary to certify and check the contract themselves – while the tenant has to pay the commission to the realtor, who simply stood by (at most – answered a phone call).

Realtors in CIS countries charge approximately 2–6% of the transaction amount. The agency fee depends on the real estate company, its reputation, the nature of the services, the market situation, and the terms of the contract with the client. The commission is paid by the party that is more interested in the deal.

Realtors in Korea:

In Korea, real estate-related professions are very diverse and can be divided into brokerage (중개), development (개발), management (관리), investment (투자), consulting (컨설팅), etc.

When looking for housing in Korea, Russian-speaking foreigners use the word "pudongsan" to mean a real estate agency or brokerage firm. However, "pudongsan" in Korean literally translates to "real estate." If you want to say "real estate agency," the full name is "부동산 중개사무소." From this name, we can see that a real estate agent (broker) in Korean is called a 중개사, and the commission to the broker is called a 중개 수수료.

The commission for real estate services in Korea is generally borne by the client who contacts a certified real estate agent to conclude a purchase or lease agreement. Consequently, both the seller and the buyer, as well as the landlord and the tenant, are obligated to pay the commission.

This means that, unlike in our countries, in Korea, both parties to the transaction pay the brokerage commission, sometimes split equally.

Let's return to our protagonist's story:

— Then why did the landlord ask the protagonist to pay the brokerage fee upon moving out, even though she found replacement tenants and the new tenants were also paying a brokerage fee?
— Because it was stipulated in her contract under the special conditions section (특약사항).

The protagonist's contract stated that the tenant is responsible for re-renting the property in case of early termination (she had six months left on the contract). This is what the landlord cited when demanding the brokerage fee. It turns out that situations can arise where the brokerage fee has to be paid twice.

However! By law, even with early termination, the tenant is not obligated to pay the commission again, unless otherwise specified in the contract.

Therefore, it is very important not to sign any contracts if you do not fully understand their content!
This can be challenging for foreigners, given the fast pace of life in Korea, but it is better to spend a little time verifying the terms to be protected by law.
Korean laws protect foreigners as well – the main thing is to know your rights.