Article 1 (Purpose) The purpose of this Ordinance is to support tenants (including sublessees, if any) of commercial buildings to enable them to perform business activities in a stable manner by forming fair and sustainable relationship in the lease of commercial buildings and by making it possible to promptly settle disputes between the landlords (including the managing bodies of commercial buildings, if any) and the tenants.

Article 2 (Scope of Application) (1) This Ordinance shall apply to commercial buildings referred to in the former part of Article 2 (1) of the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") irrespective of payment of security deposit or rent.
(2) Except as otherwise expressly provided for in any other Act, this Ordinance shall apply where any property possessed by an institution which Seoul Metropolitan Government has invested in, contributed for or funded (hereinafter referred to as "property possessed by an affiliated institution") is intended to be provided as leasehold property.

Article 3 (Definitions) The terms used in this Ordinance shall be defined as follows:
1. The term "win-win agreement on the lease of a commercial building" means an agreement concluded between a landlord and a tenant to promote their mutual benefit in the relationship of the lease of a commercial building;
2. The term "long-term carefree commercial building" means a commercial building for which a contract for long-term lease is available for a period of at least five years without excessive increase of rent;
3. The term "assessed income" means the income defined in subparagraph 4 of Article 2 of the Basic Pension Act;
4. The term "merchants' organization" means an organization comprised of at least two merchants on the basis of conducting business in a same commercial building or a specific area.

Article 4 (Mayor's Responsibility) (1) The Mayor of the Seoul Metropolitan Government (hereinafter referred to as the "Mayor") shall strive to create an environment in which tenants can perform their business with ease through stabilization of the relationship of the lease of commercial buildings.
(2) The Mayor shall strive to stabilize rents by taking such measures as conducting a fact-finding survey of relationship of lease in the area where commercial activities have become invigorated and by inducing the increase of rents within a fixed limit.

Article 5 (Recommendation and Support for Concluding Win-Win Agreements) (1) In any of the following cases where commercial activities become invigorated irrespective of the intent of tenants, the Mayor may recommend to conclude win-win agreements for lease of commercial buildings (hereinafter referred to as "win-win agreement") and provide support therefor through budgetary support:
1. Implementation of measures for the protection of shop lessees and shop occupants of public markets under Article 24 of the Special Act on the Development of Traditional Markets and Shopping Districts and measures to protect shop occupants subjected to a market improvement project under Article 49 of the same Act;
2. Projects eligible to receive subsidies under Article 27 (1) of the Special Act on Promotion of and Support for Urban Regeneration;
3. Other regional development projects, etc. which accompany directly or indirectly the element of invigoration of commercial activities through budgetary support provided under related Acts and subordinate statutes or municipal ordinances.
(2) The Mayor shall ensure that each win-win agreement referred to in paragraph (1) shall contain all the matters required for the stability of a contract for the lease of a commercial building, such as rent, increase rate of rent, lease period, right to request renewal of the contract, and guarantee of opportunity to take premium back.
(3) The Mayor may take into consideration the project cost and expenses required to support the conclusion of win-win contracts under paragraph (1) within the budget.

Article 6 (Creation of Long-Time Carefree Commercial Buildings) (1) The Mayor may create Seoul Metropolitan Government long-time carefree commercial buildings to enable the tenants to operate their businesses for a long term with ease.
(2) In order to create long-time carefree commercial buildings, the Mayor may provide the following support:
1. Subsidization of expenses for remodeling of the building, etc.;
2. Reduction or exemption of local taxes or charges within the extent prescribed by Acts and subordinates or municipal ordinances;
3. Other administrative support necessary for the creation of long-term carefree commercial buildings.
(3) Where a merchant or a merchants' organization such as a cooperative intends to purchase a commercial building, funds necessary for the purchase may be loaned or subsidized.

Article 7 (Lease Contracts, etc. for Property Possessed by Affiliated Institutions) (1) The period of a lease contract for property possessed by an affiliated institution shall be at least two years: Provided, That where the contract period is less than five years, the tenant's right to request a renewal of the contract may be exercised only within the extent that the total lease period including the initial lease period does not exceed five years. In such cases, the same shall not apply to cases falling under any subparagraph of Article 10 (1) of the Act.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), where the assessed income of a tenant's household does not exceed 100 percent (in cases of one person households, less than 70 percent) of the average monthly income of urban workers' households, total lease period may be extended up to 10 years.
(3) Either party to a lease contract may request the increase or decrease of rent or security deposit under Article 11 (1) of the Act: Provided, That in cases of the increase or a renewal contract, the amount of increase shall be adjusted by aggregating the producer price indexes announced by the Bank of Korea from the time of the increase of the rent or security deposit or the time of conclusion of the previous contract, whichever is later, until the time of the increase or renewal thereof, but it shall not exceed the rate referred to in Article 11 of the Act.
(4) Other detailed matters related to the lease of property possessed by affiliated institutions shall be governed by the operational regulations of the managing institution of the relevant leasehold property.

Article 8 (Recommendation for Use of Standard Form Contract) In order to protect tenants' rights, the Mayor shall recommend to use a standard lease contract form and a standard premium contract form prepared by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Article 9 (Counseling Center for Lease of Commercial Buildings) (1) The Mayor may operate the Seoul Metropolitan Government Counseling Center for Lease of Commercial Buildings (hereinafter referred to as the "Counseling Center") to provide counseling services with respect to the lease of commercial buildings.
(2) The Counseling Center shall provide the following counseling services:
1. Provision of information on the lease of commercial buildings;
2. Matters concerning the preparation of lease contracts for commercial buildings;
3. Matters concerning legal advice, such as relationship of rights and duties related to commercial buildings;
4. Matters concerning the return of a security deposit at the time a contract is terminated and the premium;
5. Other matters related to the lease of commercial buildings.
(3) The Mayor shall take into consideration expenses required for the installation and operation of the Counseling Center within the budget each year.
(4) The Mayor may provide administrative support to the tenants of a commercial building for whom it is deemed difficult to manage his/her business with leasehold of the relevant commercial building to convert a business, to reestablish a business, etc., in the course of providing counseling under paragraph (2).
(5) Where any mediation or intercession is requested in the course of counseling, the Mayor may notify the Dispute Mediation Committee on Lease of Commercial Buildings prescribed in Article 10 thereof and have it conduct mediation.

Article 10 (Dispute Mediation Committee on Lease of Commercial Buildings) (1) In order to deliberate on and mediate the disputes related to the lease of commercial buildings, the Mayor shall establish the Dispute Mediation Committee on Lease of Commercial Buildings (hereinafter referred to as the "Mediation Committee).
(2) The Mediation Committee shall deliberate on and mediate the following disputes (hereinafter referred to as "disputes on the lease of commercial buildings") at the request of a party to the dispute:
1. Matters concerning the increase or decrease of the rent and security deposit under Article 10-2 of the Act;
2. Matters concerning a premium under Article 10-4 of the Act;
3. Matters concerning the request for or the rejection of a renewal of a lease contract, and the lease period;
4. Where all or part of a security deposit is converted to a monthly rent, matters concerning the conversion rate thereof;
5. Matters concerning the legitimacy of consent to or rejection of consent to the transfer or sublease of a lease contract;
6. Matters concerning the hand-over of a commercial building, and return of security deposit, etc.;
7. Matters concerning the execution of repair and improvement of a commercial building and the bearing of the expenses therefor;
8. Matters concerning the remodeling of the interior of a commercial building, installation of facilities, etc. to run business at the commercial building;
9. Other matters concerning disputes on the lease of commercial buildings, such as brokerage commission and premiums.
(3) The resolution of the Mediation Committee shall require the attendance of a majority of all the incumbent members and the consent of a majority of those present.

Article 11 (Composition of the Mediation Committee) (1) The Mediation Committee shall be comprised of not more than 30 members including one chairperson: Provided, That in appointing commissioned members, the ratio of female members shall be at least 40 percent of them.
(2) Members of the Mediation Committee shall be commissioned by the Mayor from among the following persons who have extensive knowledge of law and experience in disputes on the lease of commercial buildings, and at least each one person falling under each of subparagraphs 1 through 4 shall be included therein:
1. A public official of Grade IV or higher who is under his/her control and has experience in the affairs related to the micro enterprises, housing or lease of commercial buildings;
2. A person who has professional knowledge related to the lease of commercial buildings and has served as a at least associate professor or a position corresponding thereto at a university, college or authorized research institute for at least five years;
3. A person who has served in the relevant field for at least five years as a person qualified as an attorney-at-law;
4. A person who has served in the relevant field for at least five years as a certified appraiser or licensed real estate agent;
5. Persons who represent each party to the lease of commercial buildings;
6. An expert in mediation of conflicts, or other persons who have extensive knowledge and experience relating to the lease of commercial buildings.
(3) The chairperson of the Mediation Committee shall be commissioned by the Mayor from among the members thereof. Where the chairperson is unable to perform his/her duties due to any extenuating circumstances, a person elected from among and by the members shall act on behalf of the chairperson.
(4) When any vacancy arises in the members, a supplementary member shall be commissioned, and the term of office of such supplementary member shall be the remainder of his/her predecessor's term of office.
(5) The term of office of a member shall be three years, and the consecutive appointment may be permitted.
(6) Matters necessary for the composition, operation, etc. of the Mediation Committee shall be prescribed by Rule of the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Article 12 (Exclusion, Challenge and Evasion of Members) (1) A member who falls under any of the following cases shall be excluded from the deliberation and mediation of the relevant case of the application for dispute mediation (hereinafter referred to as "case"):
1. Where a member or a person who is or was the spouse thereof becomes a party to the relevant case or is related thereto as a joint holder of any right or liability;
2. Where a member is or was blood-related with a party to the relevant case;
3. Where a member has directly been involved in the deliberation, adjudication or trial of the relevant case;
4. Where a member is involved or has been involved in the relevant case as a witness, appraiser or representative of a party thereto;
5. Other cases where a member has direct interest in the relevant case.
(2) If there exists any ground for which it would be difficult to expect impartial deliberation and mediation of any member, a party to the dispute may file a request with the Mediation Committee to challenge the member's involvement in the deliberation and mediation. In such cases, the Mediation Committee shall adopt a resolution to challenge the relevant member if the application for challenge is deemed reasonable.
(3) Any member may, if falling under any ground prescribed in paragraph (1) or (2), voluntarily refrain from the deliberation and mediation of the relevant case.

Article 13 (Revocation of Commissioning of Members) If any member falls under any of the following cases, the Mayor may revoke commissioning of him/her:
1. Where the revocation of commissioning is desired voluntarily by a member himself/herself;
2. Where it is difficult for him/her to perform his/her duties due to an illness requiring a long-term medical treatment or an overseas travel for at least six months;
3. Where he/she discloses any confidential information learned in connection with the duties of the Mediation Committee or uses the details thereof for a personal purpose;
4. Where he/she commits any misdeed in connection with his/her duties, or where any misdeed has happened due to which he/she is deemed unsuitable to retain the position as a member;
5. Where he/she falls under the category of persons in whose case five years have not passed since he/she was sentenced to punishment of imprisonment without prison labor or heavier punishment and completed or exempted from the execution of the sentence, a person in whose case two years have not passed from the expiration date of the period of the suspension of the execution of the punishment, or a person who is under the suspension of the sentence of imprisonment without labor or a heavier punishment as declared by a court;
6. Where he/she fails to evade despite the fact that he/she falls under Article 12 (3);
7. Where he/she is deemed to be unsuitable for a member due to delinquency of duties, injury to dignity, or any other reason.

Article 14 (Dispute Mediation) (1) A person who intends to have his/her dispute mediated shall file an application with the Mayor, stating the purport of and reasons for the application.
(2) Upon receipt of an application for dispute mediation, the Mayor shall notify such fact to the parties to the dispute immediately, conduct a fact-finding investigation as prescribed by Rule of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and thereafter prepare a written opinion on the mediation and request the Mediation Committee to conduct mediation.
(3) Mediation shall be conducted by a subcommittee comprised of three members (hereinafter referred to as "subcommittee").
(4) Members of a subcommittee shall be appointed for each case by the chairperson of the Mediation Committee from among the members of the Mediation Committee, and at least one person who falls under Article 11 (2) 1 shall be included therein.
(5) If necessary for the mediation, a subcommittee may conduct an investigation of the matters related to the dispute, or request the parties to the dispute to submit related materials or to conduct a meeting with incumbent parties.
(6) A subcommittee shall complete the mediation within three months from the date on which the application for mediation is filed: Provided, That the period may be extended within the limit of one month by obtaining consent from both parties.

Article 15 (Request for Attendance, etc.) If necessary for dispute mediation, a subcommittee may request the parties to the dispute, their representatives or interested persons to meet or to submit related materials.

Article 16 (Refusal or Suspension of Mediation) (1) In any of the following cases, a subcommittee may refuse to conduct mediation or suspend it:
1. Where a party to the dispute refuses to undergo mediation;
2. Where a party to the dispute has filed a lawsuit with the court or files a lawsuit with the court after the filing of the application for mediation;
3. Where it is deemed that there would be no practical benefit from proceeding with the mediation process for such reason as the details of the application being obviously acknowledged by related Acts and subordinate statutes or objective materials.
(2) Where any ground for refusal or suspension of mediation under paragraph (1) occurs, a subcommittee shall notify such ground in writing to the parties to the dispute.

Article 17 (Effect of Mediation) (1) Upon preparation of a proposal for mediation, a subcommittee shall present it to each party to the dispute without delay.
(2) When both parties accept the proposal for mediation, a subcommittee shall prepare a protocol for mediation immediately, to which the chairperson, members participated in the mediation and each party to the dispute put their names and seals.
(3) If parties to the mediation accept a proposal for mediation prepared by a subcommittee, an agreement shall be deemed to have been reached between the parties to the dispute in the same content with the protocol for mediation.

Article 18 (Formulation, etc. of Standards for Dispute Mediation) (1) The Mayor may formulate the standards for dispute mediation by each matter requiring mediation under Article 10 (2) and conduct research for such purpose.
(2) In order to collect information on the increase or decrease of rents of commercial buildings, appraisal of premiums, etc. necessary for the dispute mediation, the Mayor may conduct a fact-finding survey of the lease of commercial buildings and publicly announce the result thereof every two years.

Article 19 (Enforcement Rule) Matters necessary for the enforcement of this Ordinance shall be prescribed by Rule of the Seoul Metropolitan Government.