Jeonse, wolse and everything in between
Jeonse (전세) is a uniquely Korean lease: you hand the landlord a large deposit — often more than half the home’s value — and pay no monthly rent. You get the whole deposit back when you move out. Wolse (월세) is a smaller deposit plus monthly rent. Many contracts sit in between (반전세, half-jeonse).
When a landlord converts part of a deposit into rent, the law caps the yearly conversion rate at the Bank of Korea base rate + 2 percentage points (and never above 10%). The base rate was 2.50% in mid-2026, which made the cap 4.5%. In practice, market rates can be higher for new contracts — use the rate in your offer to compare.
Before you sign: protect your deposit
- Check the property register (등기부등본). Make sure the person signing is the owner and see how much debt (mortgages) is already on the property. If the debt plus your deposit is close to the home’s value, your deposit is at risk.
- Get a fixed date stamp (확정일자) and register your move-in (전입신고) at the community service centre (주민센터) or online right after moving in. This gives your deposit legal priority.
- Consider deposit guarantee insurance. Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) and others offer insurance that returns your jeonse deposit if the landlord can’t.
- Ask what the maintenance fee (관리비) covers — it can add ₩100,000 or more a month.
How agent fees work
For homes, the maximum fee depends on the transaction amount. For wolse, the amount is the deposit + monthly rent × 100 (or × 70 if that total is under ₩50 million). The rates below are the legal maximums for rentals; the actual fee is agreed with the agent and can be lower.
| Transaction amount | Max rate (rental) | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Under ₩50 million | 0.5% | ₩200,000 |
| ₩50M – ₩100M | 0.4% | ₩300,000 |
| ₩100M – ₩600M | 0.3% | — |
| ₩600M – ₩1.2B | 0.4% | — |
| ₩1.2B – ₩1.5B | 0.5% | — |
| ₩1.5B and above | 0.6% | — |
Agent fee caps from the Enforcement Rule of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act (homes). Officetels and shops have different rates. Conversion cap from the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Lease Protection Act.