The document you must read before any Korean property contract is the certified copy of the property register. Every guide explains its three sections — header, Section A, Section B — but almost none says where that division comes from, or how you compare a claim in Section A against one in Section B. Both answers are in the statute.
1. What am I looking for. Section A is ownership; Section B is rights other than ownership (Art. 15(2)). Section B is not the “loan box” — leasehold, superficies and lease registrations land there too — and a mortgage records the “claim amount” while a revolving mortgage records the “maximum claim amount” (Art. 75), which is not the debt.
2. What is the risk. Ranking runs by rank number within a section and by receipt number across sections (Art. 4(2)). Compare Sections A and B by rank number and you read the order backwards. A lease registration on the record can mean a previous tenant left without their deposit.
3. How do I get one. “Anyone” may inspect and obtain a copy on paying the fee (Art. 19(1)) — no owner consent needed. Pull it twice: before signing, and again just before the balance and registration.
What goes in the header, Section A and Section B
Article 15 (Registration by Property) (1) In compiling the register, one registration record shall be kept for each parcel of land or each building. Provided, that for sectioned units within one building, a single registration record shall be used for the whole of that building.
(2) A registration record shall contain a header recording matters describing the property, a Section A (gap-gu) recording matters concerning ownership, and a Section B (eul-gu) recording matters concerning rights other than ownership.
| Section | What the statute assigns to it | What you actually see |
|---|---|---|
| Header | “matters describing the property” | Address, lot, structure, area, use |
| Section A | “matters concerning ownership” | Owner; provisional attachment, attachment, injunction, auction commencement, trust |
| Section B | “matters concerning rights other than ownership” | Revolving mortgage, jeonse right, superficies, easement, lease registration |
Section B is not “the loans” but “rights other than ownership.” Jeonse rights, superficies and lease registrations all land here — and a lease registration means a previous tenant left without being repaid, which is reason enough to walk away (Housing Lease Protection Act art. 3-3(6) excludes later tenants from minimum priority repayment).
For sectioned buildings (apartments, villas) a single record covers the whole building (Art. 15(1) proviso) — which is why the header appears in two layers, the building and the unit.
A use classification of “neighbourhood living facility” may mean it is not residential. Tax law, though, treats as housing “a building actually used for residence regardless of permits or the use classification on the public register” (Income Tax Act art. 88(7)) — the register and the tax definition can diverge.
Which comes first, Section A or Section B
Article 4 (Priority of Rights) (1) The priority of rights registered over the same property shall follow the order of registration unless otherwise provided by statute.
(2) The order of registration shall be determined by rank number as between registrations made in the same section, and by receipt number as between registrations made in different sections.
| What you are comparing | Test | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Registrations within the same section | Rank number | Section B mortgage no. 1 vs no. 2 |
| Registrations across sections | Receipt number | Section A attachment vs Section B mortgage |
This is the most misread provision in practice. A provisional attachment in Section A and a mortgage in Section B can both be numbered “1” — different sections number separately. Which one comes first is decided by the receipt number.
And paragraph (1) qualifies itself: “unless otherwise provided by statute.” The Housing Lease Protection Act’s opposing power and minimum priority repayment are exactly that — rank arises without registration, and small-deposit tenants are paid first regardless of rank. See our Housing Lease Protection Act guide.
So counting your position from the register alone gets it wrong. An unregistered tenant’s opposing power may sit somewhere in that queue.
Lay the entries out in receipt order and it is obvious why there are two “number ones”.
Is the figure in Section B the actual debt
Article 75 (Matters Registered for a Mortgage) (1) When registering the creation of a mortgage, the registrar shall record …
1. the claim amount 2. the debtor’s name …
(2) Where the mortgage is a revolving mortgage, the registrar shall record …
1. the maximum claim amount 2. the debtor’s name … (items 3 and 4 only if agreed)
| Type of registration | Amount recorded | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage | “claim amount” | The sum actually borrowed |
| Revolving mortgage | “maximum claim amount” | The ceiling it can secure — not the current balance |
- The reason the number on the register is not the loan is in the statute. A revolving mortgage records only the “maximum claim amount.”
- “Usually set at 110–130% of the loan” is practice, not a statutory figure. No ratio appears anywhere in Article 75 — so this article states no multiplier. Back-calculating the loan from the ceiling is an estimate, nothing more.
- And the registered matters include no “current balance.” Pay the loan down and the ceiling stays put. The real balance cannot be read off the register; it takes a statement from the lender.
- A revolving mortgage may record a “duration” but only “if agreed” — its absence can be perfectly normal.
Here is what art. 75 requires to be recorded, and what it does not.
Can I pull it without the owner
Article 19 (Inspection and Certification) (1) Anyone may, on paying a fee, request inspection of all or part of the matters recorded in a registration record and the issue of a certificate … Provided, that for the attached documents of a registration record, inspection may be requested only as to the part in which the applicant has an interest.
(2) … such requests may also be made to a registry office other than the one with jurisdiction.
(3) … the amount of the fee and the scope of exemption shall be prescribed by Supreme Court Rules.
- “Anyone.” That is the statutory basis for not needing the owner’s consent. Pull it before you sign, freely.
- Any registry office works (para. (2)), not just the one covering the property.
- The proviso — attached documents are limited to your own interest. The record itself and its attachments are treated differently.
- Fee amounts are a Supreme Court Rules matter, so this article states no figure.
Why check it twice
The advice to look once before signing and again just before paying the balance has a statutory basis.
- Article 4(1) fixes priority by “the order of registration,” so a fresh loan taken out by the owner between signing and closing can rank ahead of you.
- And Housing Lease Protection Act Article 3(1) gives opposing power “from the day after” delivery and registration — a one-day gap, which is precisely why a mortgage registered on closing day is a problem. The sequence is in our jeonse contract checklist.
- “Ceiling plus deposit under 70% of market value is safe” is not in any statute. It is widely used but not a legislative figure, so this article states no threshold. Fraud patterns are covered in our lease fraud guide.
Questions that keep splitting opinion
Is a “register copy” the same as a “certificate of registered matters”?
The statutory term is “certificate of registered matters” (Art. 19(1)). “Register copy” is not statutory language. The types of certificate and options such as “including cancelled entries” are Supreme Court Rules matters we did not open.
What if there is a trust registration?
A trust appears in Section A (ownership). It changes who holds ownership, and therefore who you must contract with. We did not open the trust provisions (Article 81 onward), so we state no requirements here. If you see a trust registration, stop and get professional advice.
Is a provisional attachment always dangerous?
It is recorded in Section A, and under Article 4(2) it is compared with a Section B mortgage by receipt number. The statute supports no “always,” but it does signal a dispute over ownership — not something to proceed past without checking.
Should I avoid any property with a mortgage?
Most homes carry one. The statute governs ranking, not ratios. What matters is where your deposit sits in the queue — and an unregistered tenant may be ahead of you.
The agent billed me for the register search
Article 20(2) of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act Enforcement Rule directs the rights-verification expense to “the client seeking to transfer rights by sale or lease” — the seller or landlord. More in our broker fee guide.
How the register is built and how priority is decided are both written into the statute. And when you compare Section A against Section B, the test is the receipt number, not the rank number.
Sources
- Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center — statutory text — Real Estate Registration Act, Article 4 (Priority of Rights). Source of “unless otherwise provided by statute, the order of registration” and paragraph (2)’s rank-number / receipt-number split.
- Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center — statutory text — Same Act, Article 15 (Registration by Property). Source of the header / Section A (ownership) / Section B (other rights) division and the single record for a sectioned building.
- Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center — statutory text — Same Act, Article 75 (Matters Registered for a Mortgage). Basis for the split between “claim amount” and “maximum claim amount,” and for the fact that no ratio appears in the provision.
- Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center — statutory text — Same Act, Article 19 (Inspection and Certification). Source of “anyone may, on paying a fee,” the attached-documents proviso, and requests to a non-jurisdictional office.
- Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center — statutory text — Income Tax Act, Article 88 (Definitions). Subparagraph 7, “regardless of permits or the use classification … actually used for residence” — the basis for saying the register and the tax definition can diverge.
Where to check further
- Inspection and copy fees, and the copy options (full or partial, with or without cancelled entries). Art. 19(3) delegates them to Supreme Court Rules, so we quote no amount — the Supreme Court Internet Registry Office lists the current fees.
- The basis for “the maximum claim amount is 110–130% of the actual loan.” Article 75 contains no ratio at all — it appears to be practice. Only the lender's debt certificate obtained by the seller fixes the real balance.
- Who you contract with when a trust registration appears. We did not open the trust provisions and so do not assert an answer — have a judicial scrivener or lawyer read the trust schedule with you before signing.
Written as of August 2026. All quotations are the statutory text as published by the National Law Information Center, and what we could not confirm is listed separately above. If the register shows an attachment, injunction, auction commencement or trust registration, or the rights are unclear, consult a judicial scrivener or lawyer before signing. The transaction itself is covered in our apartment purchase guide, and the tax on selling in our one-home exemption guide. This article is general information, not legal advice.
