In a Korean lease, the power that protects your jeonse deposit does not begin when you stamp the contract — it begins at midnight the day after your move-in report (jeonipsingo). Once you take possession (move in) and file the move-in report, “opposing power” (daehangnyeok) arises from midnight the next day; add a “fixed date” (hwakjeongilja) stamp on the contract and you gain “priority repayment” (usseonbyeonjegwon), the right to be paid your deposit ahead of other creditors in an auction. So the practical answer is one thing: on moving day, file the move-in report and get the fixed date on the same day.
The trouble is that accidents happen in this one-day gap. A fixed date takes effect the same day, but opposing power only arises at midnight the next day, so if the bank registers a mortgage on the same day, the order flips.
The move-in report and the fixed date are not two pieces of paper — they are your deposit’s place in line, and being a day late pushes you back.
Fixed Date vs. Move-in Report: What Differs
They travel together but play different roles. Summarizing KB Think: the move-in report is a resident registration saying “I live here,” establishing the opposing requirement. The fixed date, by contrast, is a date stamp by which the state certifies “this contract existed on this date,” and it is the basis for the priority repayment that sets the distribution order.
The timing rules differ too. A fixed date can be obtained in advance, even before move-in, with just the contract, and takes effect the day it is issued. But a move-in report is only possible after actually moving in, and opposing power arises only at “midnight the next day.” Because of this gap, having a fixed date without a move-in report means no priority repayment at all — the opposing requirement must come first.
When Does Opposing Power Begin? The “Next-Day Midnight” Trap
Opposing power arising at midnight the next day is a rule meant to settle, by public notice, the rights that could arise in between. The problem is that a bank’s mortgage takes effect the same day its registration is filed. On the very day a tenant completes move-in, move-in report, and fixed date, if the landlord takes a loan and registers a mortgage that same day, the mortgage is same-day while the tenant’s opposing power and priority are next-day midnight — so the bank ranks ahead.
| Right | Requirement | Effective time | What it protects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opposing power | Possession + move-in report | Midnight the day after the report | Stay for the term; claim deposit back |
| Priority repayment | Opposing requirement + fixed date | The later of opposing power or fixed date | Paid before junior creditors |
| Minimum priority | Small-deposit tenant + opposing requirement before the auction filing | Judged by the mortgage registration date | A set amount ahead of senior liens |
So the key before signing is to check the registry for whether senior mortgages exist, and whether a new mortgage could slip in on the balance-payment or move-in date. This check is only complete alongside how to read danger signs in the property registry.
If It Goes to Auction, How Much Comes First? Minimum-Priority Math
A “small-deposit tenant” whose deposit is under a set amount can recover a portion of the deposit before senior secured creditors, regardless of fixed-date order. By the standard compiled by Budongsan R114, in Seoul a deposit of 165 million KRW or less qualifies, with up to 55 million KRW eligible for minimum-priority repayment.
But the total of these minimum-priority amounts cannot exceed one-half of the auction price. For example, a Seoul tenant with a 50-million-KRW deposit in a home sold at auction for 70 million KRW gets not 50 million but 35 million KRW (70 million × 1/2). Another easy-to-miss trap: the reference date is not your contract date but the first mortgage registration date on the registry. In a home with an old mortgage, the (lower) small-deposit standard of that time applies.
| Region | Small-deposit threshold | Minimum-priority amount | Cap if auction price is 100M KRW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seoul | ≤ 165M KRW | 55M KRW | 50M KRW |
| Overconcentration zone | ≤ 145M KRW | 48M KRW | 48M KRW |
| Metropolitan cities | ≤ 85M KRW | 28M KRW | 28M KRW |
| Other areas | ≤ 75M KRW | 25M KRW | 25M KRW |
The rightmost column computes the actual cap when the auction price is 100 million KRW (half-limit = 50 million). In Seoul, the 55-million minimum-priority amount is capped by the 50-million half-limit, so only 50 million is paid. It shows minimum priority is not “always the full amount” but is pressed down by the auction price.
What to Check
Items a real user can handle before signing a lease.
- Check the registry for senior rights like mortgages and provisional seizures and their registration dates — that date sets the minimum-priority standard.
- File the move-in report and get the fixed date on the same moving day — delaying even a day lets a mortgage in the interim outrank you.
- Verify there is no room for the landlord to take a new loan between the balance-payment date and move-in date, and add a special clause barring new mortgages.
- Confirm whether your deposit is under the regional small-deposit threshold and the minimum-priority cap, per the Housing Lease Protection Act enforcement decree.
- If opposing power and priority alone feel insufficient, also review jeonse deposit insurance conditions.
References
- KB Think — What is opposing power? Protecting tenant rights with move-in report and fixed date
- Banksalad — What happens if you skip the move-in report and fixed date
- Budongsan R114 — Minimum priority repayment (small-deposit protection)
- Korea Law Information Center — Housing Lease Protection Act enforcement decree