Korean real estate agent training: missing one date costs hours of retraining or a fine
Once you pass the Korean licensed real estate agent exam and finish practical training, it can feel as if all that is left is finding an office and choosing an opening date.
But the practical training certificate is valid for only 1 year, so if the lease or fit-out delays your registration by even one day, you may have to sit the 45-hour course again.
After opening, continuing education is due every 2 years, and missing it brings a fine of KRW 200,000 to KRW 1,000,000 depending on how long the violation lasts.
This calculator takes your practical training completion date and planned registration or employment report date and immediately shows the filing deadline, a recommended filing date and whether retraining is needed.
It also checks, role by role, the exemptions for re-registering within 1 year of a closure report or an employment-end report.
For continuing education it shows the next deadline, the date by which the province must notify you and, if you are already late, the fine today and the days left before the next tier.
This calculator is based on Korean rules: the 2026 Licensed Real Estate Agents Act, Decree and Rule effective 2026-08-28, checked on 2026-10-30.
The 45-hour practical training applies from 2026-01-01, and courses of 28 to 32 hours taken earlier are recognised under the transitional rule.
Fines are estimates from Decree Annex 2 item Sa; the actual amount is set by the provincial governor’s pre-notice.
This English page is a simplified Korea-related real estate planning estimate and does not replace a registration decision, a fine notice or legal advice.
Practical training is valid for 1 year from completion
Article 34 of the Act sets which training each role needs and by when.
The common rule is that the training must fall within 1 year counted back from the day you register or are reported as employed.
In practice: train first, then file within 1 year.
Opening an office
Practical training (including the internship part) run by the provincial governor within 1 year before the office registration application (paragraph 1).
For a corporation, every partner and officer; for a branch, its manager.
Employed licensed agent
The same practical training within 1 year before the employment report (paragraph 2).
The office owner files the report after the training and before work starts (Rule Article 8(1)).
Brokerage assistant
3 to 4 hours of job training by the provincial governor or registration office within 1 year before the employment report (paragraph 3).
It is a different course and cannot replace practical training, or vice versa.
Practical training is also a registration standard, so if you file more than 1 year after completion the registration office can refuse registration (Decree Article 13(1)1(a) and (2)3).
The registration application includes a copy of the training certificate, unless the training body lets the office check it electronically (Rule Article 4(1)3).
2026 change: 45-hour practical training and the transitional rule
A Decree amendment promulgated on 2025-10-21 (Presidential Decree No. 35824) raised practical training from 28 to 32 hours to 45 hours from 2026-01-01.
Job training and continuing education hours did not change.
Training hours by course before and after 2026-01-01| Course | Who | Until 2025 | From 2026-01-01 |
|---|
| Practical training (with internship) | Office owners and employed agents | 28-32 hours | 45 hours |
| Job training | Brokerage assistants | 3-4 hours | 3-4 hours |
| Continuing education (every 2 years) | Office owners and employed agents | 12-16 hours | 12-16 hours |
Transitional rule: the hours count, the 1 year still applies
Addendum Article 2 treats anyone who completed practical training before 2026-01-01 under the former standard as having completed the 45-hour course.
If you took a 30-hour course in 2025 you do not need the missing 15 hours.
The 1-year validity comes from Act Article 34 and still applies, so training completed on 2025-11-20 must be filed by Friday 2026-11-20, which is 21 days after the reference date 2026-10-30.
Two cases where practical training is exempt
People already in the business who take a short break do not need to retrain if they return within 1 year.
The exemption also runs from the day after the report, so the registration or employment report must be filed by the same date one year after the report.
Training exemptions by role and legal basis| New filing | Previous status that is exempt | Basis | Training saved |
|---|
| Office registration | Re-registration within 1 year of a closure report | Act Article 34(1)1 | 45 h practical |
| Office registration | Within 1 year of ending employment as a licensed agent | Act Article 34(1)2 | 45 h practical |
| Employed agent report | Re-employment within 1 year of an employment-end report | Act Article 34(2)1 | 45 h practical |
| Employed agent report | Within 1 year of closing your own office | Act Article 34(2)2 | 45 h practical |
| Assistant report | Re-employment within 1 year of an employment-end report | Act Article 34(3) proviso | 3 to 4 h job |
There is no exemption for a former assistant who obtains the licence and becomes an employed agent or opens an office.
Job training does not replace practical training.
A former employed agent being reported as an assistant may fall under the proviso, but there is no explicit rule, so the calculator marks it for confirmation with the registration office.
How the filing deadline is calculated
Last valid day of training = last day of 1 year counted from the day after completion = same date one year after completion
Last day of exemption = same date one year after the closure or employment-end report
Final filing deadline = the later of the two · on a weekend, the Friday before is shown as the recommended filing date
Administrative periods follow the Civil Act under Article 6(1) of the Framework Act on Administration.
Civil Act Article 157 excludes the first day, and Article 160 counts years by the calendar so the period ends the day before the date matching the start in the final year.
Because the day after completion is the start, the last day ends up being the same date one year later, and counting one year back from the filing date gives the same answer.
Weekend deadlines
Civil Act Article 161 extends a period ending on a Saturday or public holiday to the next day, but it is not confirmed that this applies to the requirement of training within 1 year before filing.
The calculator shows the statutory last day and, on a weekend, the preceding Friday as a recommended filing date.
Public holidays are not modelled, so file even earlier before a long holiday.
Month ends and leap years
When the same date does not exist the next year, as with 2028-02-29, the last day is the end of that month, 2029-02-28.
Training completed on 2027-02-28 starts counting on 1 March, so it stays valid until 2028-02-29.
The calculator follows Civil Act Article 160(3) for these boundaries.
Continuing education: 12 to 16 hours every 2 years, notice 2 months ahead
Act Article 34(4) requires office owners and employed agents who completed practical training to take continuing education run by the provincial governor every 2 years.
It covers changes in brokerage law and policy, brokerage and management practice and professional ethics, for 12 to 16 hours (Decree Article 28(3)).
The governor must notify the date, venue and content at least 2 months before 2 years have passed since the practical or continuing training (Article 28(4)).
Starting date
The later of the practical training date and the last continuing education date.
Each continuing course restarts the 2-year cycle.
Deadline
The same date 2 years after the starting date.
Practical training on 2026-04-10 gives a deadline of 2028-04-10 and a notice date of 2028-02-10.
Who
Only office owners and employed licensed agents.
While inactive after a closure or end of employment, no fine is calculated; only the deadline is shown in advance.
Not receiving the notice does not by itself extend the deadline, so keep the address and phone number held by the association or training body up to date.
Online options and course fees differ between the bodies commissioned by each province, so check their announcements.
Fine tiers for missing continuing education (Decree Annex 2 item Sa)
A person who fails to take continuing education without a justifiable reason faces a fine of up to KRW 5,000,000 (Act Article 51(2)5-2), and the individual amount depends on how long the violation lasts.
The violation starts the day after the deadline, and the 1-, 3- and 6-month boundaries are counted including that first day.
Continuing education fine by violation period, with dates for a 2028-04-10 deadline| Violation period | With a 2028-04-10 deadline | Fine |
|---|
| Up to 1 month | 2028-04-11 to 2028-05-10 | KRW 200,000 |
| Over 1 up to 3 months | 2028-05-11 to 2028-07-10 | KRW 300,000 |
| Over 3 up to 6 months | 2028-07-11 to 2028-10-10 | KRW 500,000 |
| Over 6 months | From 2028-10-11 | KRW 1,000,000 |
Caught 4 months late on 2028-08-11, the fine is KRW 500,000; 7 months late on 2028-11-11, it is KRW 1,000,000.
Completing the course late is treated as ending the violation the day before completion, so the tier at that point applies in this calculation.
If you have missed the deadline, the surest saving is to finish the course before the day the next tier begins.
Ways to reduce the fine: justifiable reason, voluntary payment, mitigation
Justifiable reason
If illness or hospitalisation prevented you from attending, the fine may not apply.
Submit evidence such as a medical certificate during the opinion period of at least 10 days after the pre-notice (Act on the Regulation of Violations of Public Order, Article 16).
Voluntary payment 20%
Paying within the opinion period can reduce the fine by up to 20% (the same Act, Article 18; its Decree, Article 5).
A KRW 500,000 fine becomes KRW 400,000 and the procedure ends.
Discretionary 1/2
For minor negligence or corrective effort, the authority may reduce the fine by up to 1/2 (Annex 2 general criterion Ga).
No reduction is given while you have unpaid fines.
Conversely, a serious violation can be increased by up to 1/2, but never above the KRW 5,000,000 statutory cap (criterion Na).
The calculator does not treat reductions or increases as final; it shows the voluntary payment amount, the lowest discretionary amount and the highest increased amount as a range.
Registration and employment report steps
- Complete practical training (45 hours) or job training (3 to 4 hours) at a body commissioned by the province and receive the certificate.
- Secure an office in a building entered in the building register (temporary buildings excluded, Decree Article 13(1)1(b)).
- File the registration application with the registration office by the same date one year after completion (the previous weekday if it is a weekend).
- The office notifies the registration in writing within 7 days of the application (Rule Article 4(2)).
- Set up a guarantee through mutual aid, guarantee insurance or a deposit, receive the certificate and start business (Rule Article 5(1)).
- When you hire agents or assistants, report the employment after their training and before they start, and report the end of employment within 10 days (Rule Article 8).
A closure must also be reported to the registration office in advance (Decree Article 18(1)), and that report date becomes the start of the 1-year exemption.
Failing to report a closure or suspension carries a separate fine of up to KRW 1,000,000 (Act Article 51(3)4), so keep a copy of the report.
How to use the calculator
- Set the reference date to today or the date you want to check, and choose opening an office, employed licensed agent or brokerage assistant.
- Enter the practical (or job) training completion date and the planned registration or employment report date.
- If you are returning after a closure or end of employment, select the previous status and its report date.
- If you know the course fee for retaking the training, enter it in the optional field to see the loss in money.
- In the continuing education panel, enter the last continuing course date, any late completion date, and whether you currently work as an agent.
- Review the filing deadline card, the row marked ★, the continuing education deadline and the fine tier table, then save the TXT checklist.
Example 1: opening more than a year after practical training
The cases below are hypothetical, not real.
A licensed agent completed practical training on 2026-04-10 and, because of fit-out work, plans to file the office registration on 2027-05-01.
The retake fee is assumed to be KRW 150,000.
Example 1 training validity and continuing education dates| Item | Date | From 2026-10-30 |
|---|
| Last valid day of training (Sat) | 2027-04-10 | D-162 |
| ★ Recommended filing date (Fri) | 2027-04-09 | D-161 |
| Planned filing date | 2027-05-01 | 21 days late |
| Continuing education notice due | 2028-02-10 | D-468 |
| Continuing education deadline | 2028-04-10 | D-528 |
Filing on 2027-05-01 as planned would be 21 days past validity, costing the 45-hour course and KRW 150,000 again.
Registration needs only the right to use an office in a registered building, not finished interiors, so the answer is to file by Friday 2027-04-09.
After opening, continuing education is due by 2028-04-10; if missed, the fine is KRW 200,000 until 2028-05-10, KRW 300,000 until 2028-07-10, KRW 500,000 until 2028-10-10 and KRW 1,000,000 after that.
Example 2: reopening within a year of closing
An agent who took practical training on 2021-05-20 and opened an office took continuing education on 2025-05-10 and filed a closure report on 2026-03-15.
They now want to register a new office in another neighbourhood on 2027-02-01.
Practical training exemption
Re-registering by Monday 2027-03-15, the same date one year after the 2026-03-15 closure report, is exempt under Act Article 34(1)1.
That is 136 days from the reference date 2026-10-30, and the planned date 2027-02-01 falls inside it, so there is no need to retake the 45 hours.
Continuing education deadline
The starting date is the later continuing course on 2025-05-10, not the 2021 practical training, so the deadline is 2027-05-10 and the notice is due by 2027-03-10.
The course must be taken within 98 days of reopening, so book it right after registering.
Without knowing the exemption, this agent might have retaken the 45-hour course and paid the fee for nothing.
If the re-registration slipped by one day to 2027-03-16, the exemption would end and retraining would be needed, so the exemption deadline matters as much as the training validity.
Example 3: an employed agent past the continuing education deadline
An employed licensed agent who completed practical training on 2024-07-01 missed the notice and had not taken continuing education by the reference date 2026-10-30.
The deadline was 2026-07-01, and the violation that began on 2026-07-02 is on day 121.
Example 3 fine tiers and reduction range| Item | Dates or condition | Amount |
|---|
| Up to 1 month | 2026-07-02 to 2026-08-01 | KRW 200,000 |
| Up to 3 months | 2026-08-02 to 2026-10-01 | KRW 300,000 |
| ★ Now: up to 6 months | 2026-10-02 to 2027-01-01 | KRW 500,000 |
| Over 6 months | From 2027-01-02 (64 days left) | KRW 1,000,000 |
| 20% voluntary payment | Within the opinion period | KRW 400,000 |
| Max discretionary 1/2 | No unpaid fines | KRW 250,000 |
| Max increase 1/2 | Serious violation | KRW 750,000 |
Completing the course today stops the fine at the KRW 500,000 tier, and the next deadline becomes 2028-10-30 based on the completion date.
Waiting 64 more days past 2027-01-02 moves it to KRW 1,000,000, so booking the course now is the cheapest option.
When to use it
Looking for an office after passing
Compare the training date with the lease and payment schedule to see the last day you can file the registration.
If the deadline is on a weekend, move your plan to the recommended date.
Considering reopening after closure
Check the 1-year exemption from the closure report and compare re-registering before it with retaking the training.
You also see whether continuing education falls due right after reopening.
An office owner hiring an agent
Enter the candidate’s training date or previous employment-end report date to see whether they need new training and when the employment report is due.
After missing the notice
If the deadline has passed, see today’s fine tier and the days before the next one, then schedule the course.
If you received a pre-notice, check the voluntary payment amount as well.
Limits and cautions
This tool estimates from the dates you enter and does not replace the registration office’s decision or the provincial governor’s fine.
It does not handle branch managers, multiple partners or officers of a corporation, or the choice and price of training bodies; calculate each person separately for a corporation.
Whether a justifiable reason applies, and any reduction or increase, is the authority’s call, so only a range is shown.
- Public and substitute holidays and office closures are not modelled; only weekends adjust the recommended filing date.
- Practical training fees are set by each training body, with no statutory amount, so only the value you enter is used.
- When the continuing education deadline passes during a closure and you reopen, there is no explicit rule on when the violation starts, so the calculator flags it for confirmation.
- Provincial course announcements and booking cut-offs can differ from the legal deadline, so check the training body’s schedule separately.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a practical training certificate valid?
Article 34(1) of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act requires practical training within 1 year before the office registration application date.
Counting under the Korean Civil Act, which excludes the first day, the last day you can file is the same calendar date one year after completion.
Training completed on 2026-04-10 must be filed by 2027-04-10, and because that is a Saturday the safe filing date is Friday 2027-04-09.
Do I have to retake the 45 hours if more than a year has passed?
Yes, unless an exemption applies.
Since 2026-01-01 practical training is 45 hours, and a certificate older than 1 year no longer meets the registration standard (Decree Article 13(1)1(a)).
Filing even one day late costs you the hours and the course fee again, so first check whether you can move the filing date earlier.
If I close my office and reopen, do I need practical training again?
Re-registering within 1 year of the closure report is exempt (Act Article 34(1)1).
Opening within 1 year of the report ending employment as a licensed agent is also exempt (item 2 of the same paragraph).
The reference date is the date of the closure or employment-end report, not the day you stopped working, so check the date on the report.
Does the old 28-hour course taken in 2025 still count?
Under Article 2 of Decree Addendum No.
35824, training completed before 2026-01-01 under the former standard (28 to 32 hours) counts as the 45-hour course.
You do not need to make up the difference.
The 1-year validity from completion still applies, so training completed on 2025-11-20 must be used by 2026-11-20.
When is continuing education due?
Office owners and employed licensed agents must take 12 to 16 hours of continuing education every 2 years after practical training (Act Article 34(4); Decree Article 28(3)).
Decree Article 28(4) sets the notice by reference to 2 years after practical or continuing training, so the calculator counts 2 years from the later of the two dates.
The province sends the date and venue at least 2 months before the deadline.
What is the fine for missing continuing education?
Decree Annex 2 item Sa sets KRW 200,000 for a violation of up to 1 month, KRW 300,000 for over 1 up to 3 months, KRW 500,000 for over 3 up to 6 months and KRW 1,000,000 beyond 6 months.
The statutory cap is KRW 5,000,000 and the provincial governor imposes it.
The violation starts the day after the deadline, so if you are late, finish the course before the next tier begins.
Can the continuing education fine be reduced?
A justifiable reason can avoid the fine, so submit evidence during the opinion period of at least 10 days after the pre-notice.
Voluntary payment within that period reduces the fine by up to 20% (Act on the Regulation of Violations of Public Order, Article 18; its Decree, Article 5).
If negligence or corrective effort is recognised, a discretionary reduction of up to 1/2 is possible only when you have no unpaid fines.
Do brokerage assistants take practical and continuing education?
Assistants take 3 to 4 hours of job training within 1 year before the employment report instead of practical training (Act Article 34(3); Decree Article 28(2)).
Re-employment within 1 year of the employment-end report is exempt.
Continuing education applies only to office owners and employed licensed agents, so assistants have none.
Official sources and items to recheck
On 2026-10-30 we queried the National Law Information OPEN API directly for the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act MST283713, its Decree MST288933 (Addendum No. 35824 MST279243, compared with the previous version MST261751), its Rule MST288753, the Civil Act MST284415, the Framework Act on Administration MST269955, the Act on the Regulation of Violations of Public Order MST290635 and its Decree MST287547.
The calculator relies on Act Articles 9, 15, 21, 34 and 51, Decree Articles 13, 18, 28 and 38 with Annex 2, and Rule Articles 4, 5 and 8.
- Licensed Real Estate Agents Act, Articles 9, 15, 21, 34 and 51 · MST283713 · effective 2026-08-28
- Enforcement Decree, Articles 13, 18, 28 and 38 and Annex 2 item Sa · MST288933 · effective 2026-08-28
- Enforcement Decree Addendum No. 35824, Article 2 (transitional rule for practical training) · MST279243 · effective 2026-01-01
- Enforcement Rule, Articles 4, 5 and 8 · MST288753 · effective 2026-08-28
- Civil Act, Articles 157, 160 and 161 · MST284415 · effective 2026-03-17
- Act on the Regulation of Violations of Public Order, Articles 16 and 18 · MST290635 · effective 2026-10-02 / its Decree, Article 5 · MST287547
Before filing, recheck the registration office’s procedure and documents, the training body’s schedule and fee, the dates in the continuing education notice and the violation period in any pre-notice.
When Decree Article 28 or Annex 2 is amended, the reference values and results will be updated.