Guide · as of 2026-08-09T00:00:00.000Z
A jeonse (전세) deposit — often ₩100–500 million in Seoul — is an unsecured loan to a landlord unless the tenant activates specific legal protections. The three instruments are: 확정일자 (fixed-date stamp, ₩600 at a community center or ₩500 online), 전세권 registration (registration tax of 0.2% of the deposit plus 20% local education surtax), and deposit-return guarantee insurance from HUG or SGI (HUG covers deposits up to ₩700 million in the capital region, ₩500 million elsewhere). The wave of jeonse fraud (전세사기) cases since 2022 made this the highest-stakes paperwork a foreign tenant handles.
대항력 and 우선변제권: the base layer
Priority repayment (우선변제권) — the right to be repaid from auction proceeds ahead of later creditors if the building is foreclosed — requires two things under the Housing Lease Protection Act:
- 대항력 (opposing power): actual move-in plus address registration. For foreigners, alien registration and the change-of-stay report (체류지 변경신고) legally substitute for a Korean’s 전입신고 (Immigration Act, Article 88-3). Filing the address change within 15 days of moving is therefore not only an immigration obligation but the trigger for lease protection.
- 확정일자 (fixed date): a date stamp on the lease contract, issued at any 주민센터 (₩600) or online via the Internet Registry Office, iros.go.kr (₩500). Priority ranks from the day after both conditions are met.
최우선변제 (top-priority repayment): small-deposit tenants recover a fixed slice before all secured creditors, even earlier-registered mortgage holders. In Seoul, under the Enforcement Decree amendment effective 2023-02-21, tenants with deposits of ₩165 million or less recover up to ₩55 million this way. The thresholds are lower outside Seoul and are only meaningful for small deposits — a ₩300 million jeonse in Mapo gets nothing from this provision.
전세권 설정: the registered real right
A 전세권 is a real right entered on the property register, requiring the landlord’s cooperation. Costs: registration license tax of 0.2% of the deposit, plus local education tax of 20% of that amount (Local Tax Act, Article 28), plus registry fees — roughly ₩720,000 total on a ₩300 million deposit before any legal-agent fee. Its practical advantages over 확정일자: it does not depend on maintaining residence at the address, and it allows the holder to initiate auction directly without first suing. Most Korean tenants rely on 확정일자 instead because it is nearly free; landlords frequently refuse 전세권 registration.
Guarantee insurance: HUG and SGI
Deposit-return guarantees pay the tenant if the landlord fails to return the deposit, then pursue the landlord. Two main issuers:
- HUG (주택도시보증공사), 전세보증금반환보증: deposit caps of ₩700 million (Seoul/capital region) and ₩500 million (elsewhere). Since 2024-01-01 the deposit must fit within 90% of the assessed housing price (담보인정비율). Annual fees were restructured on 2025-03-31 to a range of 0.097%–0.211% of the deposit, varying by housing type and deposit-to-price ratio. Enrollment is possible until half the lease term has elapsed. Registered foreigners with an ARC are eligible.
- SGI (서울보증), 전세금보장신용보험: higher or no deposit caps for apartments (unverified: current SGI limits and rates), generally higher premiums.
The 90% ratio is the number that matters in the fraud pattern: 전세사기 schemes concentrated in newly built villas (빌라) where the deposit equaled or exceeded the true market price, making guarantee enrollment impossible and auction recovery partial. A deposit that cannot be insured because it fails the price test is itself the warning signal.
The order of operations, as practiced
Contract signing with the registry extract (등기부등본) checked for prior mortgages; deposit transfer; move-in; 체류지 변경신고 within 15 days; 확정일자 the same day; guarantee insurance application within the enrollment window. Each step is independently cheap relative to the deposit at stake — ₩600 for the stamp, roughly 0.1–0.2% per year for insurance.