A Korean broker's commission is capped at the transaction amount multiplied by a bracketed rate, and that cap is a starting point for negotiation rather than a fixed price. Because the rate changes by bracket, the cap jumps like a staircase the moment a transaction crosses a threshold. A sale at 899 million won carries a cap of 3,596,000 won; at 900 million won the cap is 4,500,000 won. One million won of price adds 904,000 won to the ceiling.
Under the Seoul city ordinance, residential sales run through six brackets, from 0.6% below 50 million won to 0.7% at 1.5 billion won and above. The schedule published by the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza is the reference, and because rates are set by metropolitan and provincial ordinance, they can differ by region.
Sales step up at every bracket boundary
Lower brackets carry an absolute ceiling; higher ones do not. Below 50 million won the rate is 0.6% with a 250,000 won ceiling; from 50 million to 200 million won it is 0.5% with an 800,000 won ceiling. Where a ceiling exists, it overrides the percentage once the percentage exceeds it.
Notably, no step appears at the boundaries of the two capped brackets. At 49.99 million won, 0.6% gives 299,940 won, but the 250,000 won ceiling applies — and 50 million won at the next bracket's 0.5% is exactly 250,000 won. At 199.99 million won the 800,000 won ceiling applies, and 200 million won at 0.4% is also 800,000 won. The ceilings have already flattened those steps.
Above 200 million won, where the ceilings disappear, the picture changes. Below are the caps calculated at each bracket's upper edge and at the entry point of the next.
| Bracket | Rate | Ceiling | Cap just below the edge | Cap on entering next bracket | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 50m won | 0.6% | 250,000 won | 49.99m → 250,000 | 50m → 250,000 | 0 |
| 50m–200m won | 0.5% | 800,000 won | 199.99m → 800,000 | 200m → 800,000 | 0 |
| 200m–900m won | 0.4% | none | 899m → 3,596,000 | 900m → 4,500,000 | 904,000 |
| 900m–1.2bn won | 0.5% | none | 1.199bn → 5,995,000 | 1.2bn → 7,200,000 | 1,205,000 |
| 1.2bn–1.5bn won | 0.6% | none | 1.499bn → 8,994,000 | 1.5bn → 10,500,000 | 1,506,000 |
| 1.5bn won and above | 0.7% | none | — | — | — |
Three steps, worth roughly 900,000, 1.2 million and 1.5 million won. When a price sits near 900 million, 1.2 billion or 1.5 billion won, adjusting the asking price moves the commission ceiling with it. Acquisition tax is bracketed in a similar way, so total transaction costs have to be read across both staircases — that structure is set out in the breakdown of acquisition tax rates by bracket.
Rent converts at 100 times, or 70
Where a lease carries monthly rent on top of a deposit, the transaction amount is converted first: deposit + (monthly rent × 100). If that sum comes to less than 50 million won, it is recalculated as deposit + (monthly rent × 70). The lower multiple keeps small-rent leases from being assessed too heavily.
Lease brackets differ from sale brackets: 0.5% below 50 million won (ceiling 200,000 won), 0.4% from 50 to 100 million (ceiling 300,000 won), 0.3% from 100 million to 600 million, 0.4% from 600 million to 1.2 billion, 0.5% from 1.2 to 1.5 billion, and 0.6% above that. Worked through with concrete cases:
| Case | Deposit | Monthly rent | Converted amount | Bracket and rate | Fee cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small monthly lease | 5m won | 400,000 won | 5m + 28m = 33m won (×70) | Under 50m, 0.5%, ceiling 200,000 | 165,000 won |
| At the threshold | 10m won | 400,000 won | 10m + 40m = 50m won (×100) | 50m–100m, 0.4%, ceiling 300,000 | 200,000 won |
| Semi-jeonse | 200m won | 800,000 won | 200m + 80m = 280m won | 100m–600m, 0.3% | 840,000 won |
| Jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) | 500m won | — | 500m won | 100m–600m, 0.3% | 1,500,000 won |
| Jeonse | 600m won | — | 600m won | 600m–1.2bn, 0.4% | 2,400,000 won |
The first two rows show where the 70 and 100 multiples divide. A 5 million won deposit with 400,000 won rent converts at 100 times to 45 million won, short of the 50 million threshold, so it is recalculated at 70 times to 33 million won. Raise the deposit to 10 million and the 100-times conversion lands on exactly 50 million, moving straight into the next bracket without recalculation.
The jeonse rows show another step. At 599 million won, 0.3% gives 1,797,000 won; at 600 million, 0.4% gives 2,400,000 won — 603,000 won more for a one-million-won difference. Lease transaction amounts also feed the rental reporting rules, so reading this alongside the 60-million-won deposit and 300,000-won rent reporting thresholds gathers the contract-stage items in one place.
What the schedule prints is the maximum that may be charged. Charging the maximum is convention, not the amount the law sets.
The cap is not a price list
The commission schedule on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's electronic contract system states that sales and exchanges are agreed at or below a rate the broker sets within 9/1000, and leases within 8/1000, in consultation with the client. Ordinance rates sit on top of that as bracketed caps, and the actual figure is settled below them.
Timing is also defined. According to Easy Law, commission is payable as agreed between broker and client, and absent an agreement, on the day payment for the property is completed. There is no obligation to pay before the final balance unless one has been agreed.
Anything charged above the cap is void. The excess can be reclaimed, and the broker faces administrative sanctions including suspension of qualification for up to six months and revocation of office registration, plus criminal penalties of up to one year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 10 million won.
VAT is separate. An office registered as a general taxpayer adds 10% to the commission; a simplified taxpayer applies a lower rate. On a 900 million won sale, a 4.5 million won cap becomes 4.95 million won with VAT added.
Pre-sale rights and officetels are calculated differently
For a bunyangkwon (pre-sale right to an apartment under construction), the transaction amount is not the full contract price but the sum paid to date, including financing, plus the premium. Sell a right to an 800 million won unit after paying a deposit and one instalment totalling 200 million won, at a 100 million won premium, and the transaction amount is 300 million won — a cap of 1.2 million won at 0.4%, not the 3.2 million won that 0.4% of 800 million would give.
Officetels qualify for 0.5% on sales and 0.4% on leases only where the exclusive-use area is 85 m² or less and the unit has the specified fixtures — a dedicated kitchen, flush toilet and bathing facilities. Other officetels, along with land and commercial property, are negotiated within 0.9% for both sales and leases. Two units in the same building can fall on opposite sides of that line.
What to check
- Whether the price sits near the 900 million, 1.2 billion or 1.5 billion won thresholds — one million won of price can move the cap by 900,000 to 1.5 million won
- Whether the converted lease amount falls under 50 million won — if so, 70 applies instead of 100
- The ordinance schedule for the region of the contract, which may differ from Seoul's
- Whether payment timing has been agreed; absent agreement, it is the day the transaction balance is settled
- Whether VAT is added and which tax status the office holds — a general taxpayer adds 10%
- For a pre-sale right, whether the amount paid to date plus the premium was used as the basis
- For an officetel, whether the 85 m² and fixture requirements are met — this decides 0.5% versus 0.9%
