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Registration System

Real property registration system is a management system that allows a registration officer (public official) to
register real properties and legal relationship in an official registry in accordance to the law and to keep
maintenance of the registry.

Unlike movable properties, it is rather difficult to keep track of the ownership or occupants of real properties. For
this reason, the government makes public notice of real property information and its legal relationship through the
registry.

Chronicles of Registration System Development in Korea
  1. Phase 1 (1400~1893)

    -Transferring of real property ownership by using Moonki, a written letter of statement of land transactions

    -Practicing of governmental notarization system, or Ip-an

  2. Phase 2 (1893~1906)

    -Commercialization of land transactions

    -Establishment of the basic structure for making public notice

  3. Phase 3 (1906~1912)

    -Introduction and implementation of the initial modern registration system

  4. Phase 4 (1912~1960)

    -Coexistence of the registration and certification system

  5. Phase 5 (1960~ present)

    -Legislation and implementation of the current real property registry system

About the Registry

The registry is a book compiled of real property information in a designated format. In general,there are two types
of registries: the land registry and building registry. In principle, the land registry allocates one set of registration
form per each number of land lot. This principle also applies to the building registry as well. A typical set of
registry form would contain four parts which are registration number, real property title, gap-ku and ul-gu
respectively. Following information is entered under each section:

Title: Real estate location and related details

Gap-gu: Ownership rights

Ul-ku: Registration records of mortgage rights, lease (made on a deposit basis) rights, easement, surface
rights, etc other than ownership

The real estate registry in Korea is entered by unit basis, in which each independent real estate is considered
as one unit. This so called unit-based registration format and is comparable to the ownership-based
registrations in which the registry is entered by an individual ownership basis.
This means that two units of real properties cannot be recorded in the same registration sheet and part of a
single unit of a real property cannot be recorded in the registry

The implementation of the Computerization Project of Korean Registry Systems has realized fully computerized
registry throughout the nation, including the registration procedure. This has changed the concept of the registry
from its paper-book to a secondary memory data base which holds the details of the registry and the contents
has changed from paper to digital records.

Organization of Registration Offices

The real property registration is managed by the court, in which the respective district courts and branch courts
administer the registration procedures of the properties located in the region of their jurisdiction.

One of the main reasons for the courts to be provided with such a responsibility is that unlike other
administrative civil services, registration procedure involves legal issues on a quasi-judicial level among the
parties concerned. A district court, within its jurisdiction, operates a registry office, subordinate to the court.
Some district courts or branch courts may have a registry department in the same court building.