I'm renting an apartment in Seoul on a jeonse contract and my landlord is refusing to return my deposit?

Korean tenant protections under the Housing Lease Protection Act (주택임대차보호법) absolutely apply to foreigners with an ARC, no different from Korean nationals. Your landlord legally must return the jeonse deposit at lease end, and refusing or delaying without cause is grounds for legal action.

Your first step is to send a 내용증명 (content-certified mail) through the post office (about 5,000 won), formally demanding the deposit return with a deadline (usually 30 days). This creates legal evidence and often resolves the issue alone. If the landlord still refuses, file a 임차권등기명령 (lease registration order) at the local district court, which protects your priority claim on the deposit even after you move out (about 50,000 won fee, processed in 1 to 2 weeks). Then file a 보증금 반환소송 (deposit return lawsuit) at the same court. Foreigners can use a small claims process for amounts under 30 million won, which is faster (3 to 4 months) and cheaper. The Korea Legal Aid Corporation (대한법률구조공단, 132) offers free consultations and even free legal representation for income-qualifying cases. Multilingual support is available through the Seoul Global Center (02-2075-4180) and the Korea Housing Finance Corporation (1688-8114) for guidance. If your jeonse was registered with HUG insurance (보증보험), they can pay you directly while pursuing the landlord. Don't move out before securing the lien (임차권등기) or you risk losing priority.