So, when you first came to Korea as a teacher, you were most likely provided with a dinky little apartment out nowhere that made you go "what have I got myself into???"  But, now that you've been in Korea for a while and know how things work here, you've probably moved into a nicer apartment where you can live a more comfortable lifestyle.

That nice apartment probably means that you're paying through your nose on monthly rent and key money.  You know what key money is, right?  It's the lump sum initial deposit that you give to your landlord you get back at the end of your lease.

While key money is contractually protected, your money may not be fully protected if your landlord is mired in debt to multiple parties including you.  Many apartments for rent have money borrowed with the apartments used as collateral.  They might be straight up mortgages or debts from funding the owner's business.

Whatever the debts are for, you must make sure that the value of the apartment is at least higher than the amount of the key money + all the outstanding debts borrowed against the apartment.  It will basically ensure that if the owner goes bankrupt and has to liquidate the apartment to pay off the creditors, he will have enough left over to pay the creditors and you.  In such case, the order in which the claim on the apartment was made matters.  Hence, you have to make sure you put your name on the list of creditors.

To do this, you have to make sure that you get what is called 'Hwakjeongilja' (확정일자).  It is essentially a process in which you make your claim on paper on the key money you entrust the landlord with by getting the date of your lease notarized by the government.  This will make sure if the landlord acquires more debt after you, you will have the first claim on the asset (the apartment) if it goes to auction or foreclosure.

So, here's how you do this. 

1. Change your address on your registration card to the new address you're planning to move to.

2. Take your lease contract and your registration card (with the new address on it) to a Dongsamuso (Dong Community Office) and get the date of the lease officially recorded.

You're done!

If you're going to put up more than a month's salary as key money, make sure you get the 'Hwakjeongilja' to protect yourself.

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