Small Deposit Priority Repayment in Korea: Seoul ₩165 Million or Less Gets ₩55 Million First

What it is

Small-deposit priority repayment (소액임차인 최우선변제) means that when a rented home is sold at auction or public sale, a tenant with a small deposit is paid a fixed part of it before the bank holding the mortgage. It comes from Article 8(1) of the Housing Lease Protection Act. Which deposits qualify, and how much is paid first, are set by region in Articles 10 and 11 of the Enforcement Decree. The total paid first can never exceed half the value of the home including the land (Act Art. 8(3)).

Thresholds by region

Figures from the Enforcement Decree as amended on February 21, 2023:

Region	Deposit at or below	Paid first, up to
Seoul	₩165 million	₩55 million
Overcrowding control areas (excl. Seoul), Sejong, Yongin, Hwaseong, Gimpo	₩145 million	₩48 million
Metropolitan cities (excl. overcrowding control areas and counties), Ansan, Gwangju (Gyeonggi), Paju, Icheon, Pyeongtaek	₩85 million	₩28 million
Everywhere else	₩75 million	₩25 million

A deposit even ₩1 over the threshold does not qualify.

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What you need

Requirement	Detail
Residence requirements	Move in and file the residence report before the auction is registered (Act Art. 8(1), Art. 3(1)). For registered foreigners, the change-of-residence report counts (Immigration Act Art. 88-2(2)).
Claim for distribution	When the auction starts, file a claim for distribution (배당요구) with the court by its deadline.
Mortgage date	A mortgage set before Feb 21, 2023 may be subject to the older thresholds (see below).

Watch the mortgage date

The addendum to the 2023 amendment says that for anyone who took a security interest in the home before the amendment took effect, the previous rules apply. If the property register (등기부등본) shows a mortgage set before February 21, 2023, that mortgage holder is subject to the older, lower thresholds. Check the date before you sign.

Worked examples

Assuming any mortgage was set on or after February 21, 2023:

Region	Deposit	Result
Seoul	₩100 million	Qualifies, up to ₩55 million
Seoul	₩30 million	Qualifies, the full ₩30 million
Seoul	₩170 million	Over the threshold, does not qualify
Everywhere else	₩70 million	Qualifies, up to ₩25 million
Seoul, home worth ₩80 million	₩100 million	Limited to half the home’s value: ₩40 million

Common questions

Q. Do I need a fixed date for priority repayment?

A. No. Moving in and the residence report are enough for this. But to recover the rest of the deposit in order of rank, you need a fixed date on the contract, so get one anyway.

How to protect your lease deposit in Korea

Q. What if several tenants live in one home?

A. If their priority amounts together exceed half the home’s value, that half is shared in proportion to each tenant’s amount (Decree Art. 10(3)). Several tenants living together as one household are treated as one tenant and their deposits are added up.

Q. Why is jeonse riskier than monthly rent?

A. The larger the deposit, the smaller the share this rule protects, and a large jeonse deposit usually exceeds the threshold altogether.

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