I must leave Korea but my deposit is not back. What do I do first?

Do not move out, change your address registration or board the plane until a court-ordered lease registration (임차권등기) appears on the property registry. That entry keeps your claim to the deposit protected and ranked after you have left the home and the country. You can ask the court for it as soon as the lease has ended and the money has not been paid, and after it is recorded a lawyer can carry the recovery forward while you are abroad.

Why does leaving put my deposit at risk?

Your protection as a tenant depends on occupying the flat while your residence report points to it. A permanent departure takes away both at once. The card is handed in at the airport, immigration may then delete the address from its records, and the flat sits empty. Courts have held, in auction cases, that a tenant must keep occupation and registration in place until the claim deadline set by the auction court in order to be paid before other creditors. A tenant who leaves earlier can fall behind the banks or lose the ranking altogether. The debt itself remains, but collecting it from a landlord with no cash becomes slow and uncertain.

Has my lease actually ended?

The court order is only available after the lease is over, so check this first.

Your situation	When the lease ends
Fixed term, and you told the landlord at least 2 months before the end date that you will not renew	On the end date
No one gave notice in time, so the lease renewed automatically	3 months after the landlord receives your notice to end it
You used your right to request one renewal	Also 3 months after the landlord receives your notice
You need to leave in the middle of a fixed term	Only if the landlord agrees or the contract allows it

A visa that is running out does not, on its own, end a fixed term. If you are in the last row, ask the landlord in writing to agree to an early end, and offer to help find the next tenant. Send every notice by text message and by certified letter (내용증명), and keep proof that it was received.

How do I apply for the lease registration order?

Apply to the district court, branch court or municipal court that covers the address of the home. The application (임차권등기명령 신청서) must explain why you are applying and show the facts behind it. Bring:

• the lease contract with its fixed date stamp
• proof the lease ended: your notice, the certified letter and the delivery record
• a certificate of your alien registration (외국인등록사실증명) showing the address
• a floor plan, if you rent only part of a house
• a recent copy of the property registry (등기사항증명서)

The court decides on the documents and asks the registry office to enter the lease. This often takes a few weeks, so apply on the first day you can. The costs of the application and the registration can be claimed back from the landlord. Before you hand over the keys, print the registry again and find the entry with your name in the section for other rights (을구). Once it is there, you keep your protection even after you move out and leave Korea.

What should I sort out in the days before departure?

• Decide where the money will be paid. Ask your bank what happens to your Korean account after your card is returned, and give your lawyer an overseas account as a backup.
• Hand back the home on paper. Return the keys only after the registration is visible, and get a note signed by the landlord or agent with the date, the meter readings and the condition of the rooms.
• Choose an address for court mail. Court papers are sent to an address in Korea. A lawyer's office can receive them for you.
• Keep the originals together. Contract, fixed date receipt, registry printouts and every message with the landlord, plus scans in your email.
• Ask about your stay. If a lawsuit is likely, ask the immigration office whether you can stay longer for it. This is decided case by case.

How can the deposit be recovered once I am gone?

You do not have to fly back for each step. A lawyer acting on your written mandate (위임장) can choose among these routes, often more than one at a time:

Route	What it can give you
Housing Lease Dispute Mediation Committee (주택임대차분쟁조정위원회)	A settlement, normally within 60 days; if both sides accept and agree to enforcement, it works like a judgment. The landlord can refuse to take part
Payment order (지급명령)	A quick paper procedure when the landlord does not dispute the debt
Deposit return lawsuit (보증금반환청구소송)	A judgment; the law applies several small-claims procedure rules to these cases whatever the amount
Auction (경매)	With a judgment, the home can be put up for sale without you first handing it back
Deposit guarantee insurance, if you took it out	The guarantor pays you and then pursues the landlord itself

If an auction does take place, the law releases your share of the sale money only once you have handed the flat to the buyer, so keep the lease registration and your paperwork in order until that point.

The landlord says, "I will pay when a new tenant moves in." Should I wait?

You can wait, but not without the registration. Get the promise in writing with a date, and file for the court order anyway. In practice the entry often speeds things up: a tenant who rents the home after it is recorded cannot claim the special protection for small deposits, so many new tenants avoid such a home, and landlords then find the money sooner.

Next step

Check today whether your lease has ended and when you gave notice. If it has ended, apply for the lease registration order before you book your flight, and do not hand over the keys until it shows on the registry. If the landlord has stopped answering or the home is already in auction, a lawyer can take over the court steps for you. Consultations are paid; when you contact us, a staff member will call you back and explain the fee.

법무법인 대한중앙
1533-7377

Rules applied

Housing Lease Protection Act (주택임대차보호법) Article 3(1) (protection based on living in the home and registered address), Article 3-2(1) and (3) (auction on a judgment without first returning the home; payment only after handing the home to the buyer), Article 3-3(1), (2), (5), (6) and (8) (lease registration order: where to apply, contents, protection kept after moving out, later tenants lose small-deposit priority, costs from the landlord), Article 4(2) (the lease continues until the deposit is returned), Article 6(1) and Article 6-2 (notice periods; 3 months after notice in an automatically renewed lease), Article 6-3(4) (same rule for a renewal on request), Article 13 (small-claims rules in deposit lawsuits), Articles 14, 21(3), 23(1), 26(2) and 27 (mediation committee, 60 days, 14 days to accept in writing, enforceability). Immigration Act (출입국관리법) Article 37(1) and Article 37-2(1) (return of the card at departure; cancellation of registration), Article 88(2) (certificate of alien registration). Payment orders and small-claims procedure: Civil Procedure Act (민사소송법), Small Claims Trial Act (소액사건심판법).

This is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different.