The government plans to expand benefits for homeowners who voluntarily raise the lump-sum "jeonse” deposit by no more than five percent as part of efforts to stabilize the jeonse and monthly rent market.

The government finalized the plan on Tuesday at a ministers’ meeting on real estate affairs chaired by finance minister Choo Kyung-ho. The gathering was the first of its kind to be held under the Yoon Suk Yeol government.

Unique to South Korea's home rental market, the widely popular long-term leasing option of "jeonse" enables a renter to lease a residence by remitting a single, returnable lump-sum deposit in place of monthly rent.

With the government’s expanded benefits, homeowners who raise jeonse fees by no more than five percent will be exempt from paying the real estate transfer tax until the end of 2024 if the contracted house is their only one in a region subject to real estate regulations.

The government plans to revise related enforcement regulations next month to apply the expanded benefits to rental contracts that were clinched after December 20, 2021, when the government introduced the system for such homeowners.