Under Korea's lease renewal right, a landlord may raise the deposit or rent by at most 5%. On a 300 million won jeonse deposit that is 15 million won — worth 62,500 won a month once converted at the current 5.00% rate.
A tenant whose lease has ended without the deposit being returned can apply for an imchagwon deunggi myeongnyeong (lease registration order). With one landlord, one tenant and one property, the filing cost is 43,400 won.
The statutory cap on converting a jeonse deposit into monthly rent rose from 4.5% to 4.75% after the Bank of Korea lifted its base rate to 2.75% in July 2026. Cutting a 300 million won jeonse to a 100 million won deposit caps rent at 791,667 won a month.
If your Korean lease ended but the deposit was not returned, a court leasehold registration order preserves your priority rights so you can move out safely.
Converting a jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) into wolse (monthly rent) uses a conversion rate: monthly rent times 12, divided by the converted deposit. The legal cap is the Bank of Korea base rate plus 2%. Here are the formula and worked examples.