Definition
In Korea, a legal right that lets a tenant on a jeonse (Korea's lump-sum deposit lease) or a monthly-rent lease ask the landlord to extend the contract one more time, for two years, as the end of the term nears. A landlord can't simply refuse unless the law gives a specific reason.
Stay 2 more years, with the deposit raised by 5% at most
When you sign a jeonse or monthly-rent lease in Korea, you usually settle in for a base term of two years. Every two years, hunting for a new place and paying broker fees and moving costs is a huge burden on a tenant. The strong protection card you can play here is the contract renewal right.
Use this right, and on top of the original two years you can live there securely for 4 years in total. It isn't unlimited for life. It's a chance you can use exactly once per housing contract.
There's also a safety valve that stops landlords from raising the deposit or monthly rent by an outrageous amount. The law limits any increase to within 5% at most of the previous deposit. Even if home prices suddenly soar, this acts like a fence that keeps tenants from being pushed out.
You can't use it just whenever you want
This ticket has a strict window, set by law. You must tell your landlord you want to extend between 6 months and 2 months before the contract ends. Miss that timing, and you may have to move out even though you wanted to use the right.
When you tell them, it's safest to leave solid proof so there's no dispute later. Don't just say it out loud. Use a method that clearly records the date and the content, like a text message or certified mail.
To be a bit more precise: if neither the landlord nor the tenant says anything until 2 months before the end, the lease is renewed by default (called "implied renewal"). Implied renewal doesn't count as playing this card. So the tenant keeps the chance to formally use the right once later, whenever they want.
When a landlord can legitimately say no
A strong tenant right doesn't mean the landlord's situation gets ignored. To protect the landlord's right to a home and to property, the law lists a few clear grounds for refusal.
The most common ground is when the landlord or immediate family, such as parents or children, will move in and live there themselves. But suppose a landlord removes a tenant by saying "I'll live there myself," and then, before the two years that would have been the renewal term have passed, rents it to someone else with no good reason. In that case, the landlord must pay damages to the former tenant, whether or not the rent was raised. The rent charged is not a condition for owing damages. It only serves as a reference when figuring out how much.
A landlord can also refuse if the tenant has fallen two months behind on rent, damaged the home on purpose or through serious fault, or sublet it to someone else without the landlord's consent. It's a legal benefit you get only when you've kept up your basic duties and the landlord's trust.
Common misconceptions
If you tell the landlord the day before the contract ends, you can always stay two more years.
Your notice only counts if you give it to the landlord between 6 months and 2 months before the contract ends. Once you pass the 2-month mark, you can't use the right.
If the landlord says they'll live there themselves, the tenant always has to leave.
A refusal is only valid if the landlord or immediate family really moves in. If they lie to get you out and then rent to someone else with no good reason, you can claim damages by law, whether the rent went up or stayed the same.
Where you meet it
A tenant on a jeonse with a 300 million won deposit used the right and raised it by only 5% at most (15 million won), to 315 million won, and stayed two more years.
A landlord legitimately refused a tenant's renewal request because their child, who was moving up from the countryside, planned to actually live in the home.
In one sentence
It's a one-time legal right that lets a tenant stay two more years while capping the deposit increase at 5%.