The most basic safeguard for protecting your jeonse or wolse deposit — obtained by taking your contract to a community center. What is it?

Getting a 'fixed date' (확정일자) stamped on your lease contract at the local community center, combined with registering your move-in address, establishes a legally recognized timestamp proving when your tenancy and deposit claim began. If the property later faces foreclosure or the landlord's debts are settled through legal proceedings, this fixed date gives your deposit claim priority relative to creditors whose claims arose later — a crucial safeguard given how much money is typically locked into a jeonse deposit.

A lucky charm has no legal standing whatsoever, and an extra landlord signature alone doesn't create the priority protection that comes specifically from the official fixed-date registration process.

This step is often paired with checking the property registry beforehand, since a fixed date protects your priority order but doesn't erase existing debts already registered against the property — both checks work together for real protection.