Computerization of real estate registration refers to computerization of local recorders' various affairs relevant to real estate registration, including applications, processing, issuing attested copies, accessing ledgers, statistical analysis, and p...
Computerization of real estate registration refers to computerization of local recorders' various affairs relevant to real estate registration, including applications, processing, issuing attested copies, accessing ledgers, statistical analysis, and preservation of ledgers. Application for real estate registration has dramatically increased since the 1990s as real estate transfers increased with economic growth. However, it took much time to process real estate registration as everything was recorded manually on paper ledgers.
This caused errors, delays, and problems with incomplete registration. Therefore, the Supreme Court decided to computerize the registration process in August 1990 and developed the application systems in 1994.
The computerization systems were installed at every recorder's offices in Korea by September 2002 and the massive quantity of ledgers for 45 million lots were transferred to computerized databases. Finally, real estate registration electronic application system was spread to every recorder's offices in Ulsan, Chungbuk, Jeonbuk, and Gyeongnam as of Jun 2, 2008.
The types of registrations available for electronic registration also expanded. Paper-based application for registration required the registering person to appear at the recorder's office, but the electronic application process did not require him/her to be present. Personal identification is verified by official authentication and user registration. Also, the principle of written documents has been replaced with electronic documents and the documents issued by administrative offices have been allowed to be transmitted electronically. Paper-based forms submitted by applicants and their power of attorney must be officially authenticated by applicants. Other online applications require all applicable taxes to be paid. Taxes and other duties are also accepted electronically. Real estate registration system publicly notices real rights accurately and timely for the security of real estate transfers and the protection of property rights.
The mission of real estate registration is to make accurate public notices that correspond to the actual real estate rights and ownerships. If registration cannot reflect the actual real estate rights and transfers, it will jeopardize the security of transfers and the rights of true owners. Therefore, it is important to maintain a ledger that matches the actual transfer of rights and prevent creating fraudulent ledgers that do not match the facts.
The current Real Estate Registration Law requires written applications and formal deliberation of recorders for fast and reliable registration procedures. There are other regulations to prevent fraudulent registrations that may be caused in the process of formal deliberation by recorders. In other words, registers are required to submit applications in person so they can prevent disadvantages caused by fraudulent registration.
When applying for a registration, applicants must submit an application, written grounds (certificate of reason), registration stamp of applicant, a third person's written approval, consent, or agreement if necessary, and applicant's certificate of official seal. The application form must indicate what is required under Article 41 of the Real Estate Registration Law. However, applicant's certificate of official seal and registration stamp are deliberated as written documents to cause problems with verification of personal identification, clarification of applicant's decision, and evaluation of factuality. In addition, the current power of attorney for real estate registration is limited to the application process, making it difficult for commissioned persons to review the factual backgrounds before applying for real estate registration.
The problems with personal identification, factuality of the certificate of reason, and deliberation of recorders still occur in the process of electronic application for registration. Solutions for the personal identification problem could be ① providing personal identification information through commissioned person, ② improving the electronic signature system, and ③ having recorders verify the identity of applicants. For the factuality of the certificate of reason, I reviewed limitations in adopting notarized certificates and possibilities in introducing authentication of the certificate of reason. As for the limitations of electronic application for real estate registration, I discussed problems with official authentication, legal professionals' use of online tax payment services (WeTAX), and transfer agreement deliberation, and proposed solutions to revitalize the electronic application system. Application for real estate registration is critical for the citizens' ownerships and rights with real estate properties and there must be measures to monitor unauthorized persons' applications without permission of true owners. Online registration must be strictly regulated to verify the identification of applicants and to ensure security of electronic ledgers.