The appeal is dismissed.

The grounds of appeal are examined.

"Lending of a qualification certificate of an authorized broker" prohibited by Article 7 of the former Act on the Business Affairs of and Report on Real Estate Transactions (amended by Act No. 12374, Jan. 28, 2014; hereinafter referred to as the "former Authorized Brokerage Act") means lending the qualification certificate itself to another person even though he/she knows that he/she intends to engage in the business of the certified broker by using his/her qualification certificate and intends to engage in the business of the certified broker.

Whether an unqualified person has performed his/her duties should be determined not by appearance but by whether an unqualified person actually performs his/her duties using the name of the certified broker (see, e.g., Supreme Court Decision 2015Do5506, May 12, 2016). Moreover, the term "mediation" under Article 2 subparagraph 1 of the former Certified Judicial Brokerage Act means mediating the transaction, exchange, lease and other acts on the acquisition, loss and transfer of rights between the parties to the transaction with respect to the goods subject to brokerage under Article 3 of the same Act.

Whether a certain act constitutes a brokerage act shall be determined depending on whether a broker’s act is objectively deemed to be an act to arrange a transaction in light of social norms, in light of the purport of the legal provisions aimed at protecting the parties to the transaction (see Supreme Court Decision 2012Da5883, Dec. 26, 2013, etc.). The mere fact that a juristic act related to the acquisition, loss, or transfer of rights by such brokerage goes against the laws and regulations of compulsory conduct cannot be deemed excluded from the brokerage by the former authorized brokerage law.

For the reasons indicated in its reasoning, the lower court, based on the circumstances indicated in its reasoning, has practically carried out the duties of a certified broker in the instant office by using the name of the personal defendant in the name of the certified broker, and the certified broker qualification certificate is recognized to F with knowledge of such circumstances.