Seoul to tighten oversight on foreign property purchases

Seoul to tighten oversight on foreign property purchases

최초입력 2025.06.16 09:07:18

Seoul apartments as viewed from Namsan

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Sunday it will strengthen oversight of foreign property transactions in an effort to improve transparency and ensure fair regulation.
The move comes amid a sharp increase in real estate purchases by foreign nationals, raising concerns over potential market distortion and regulatory imbalance between local and foreign buyers.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 98,581 foreigners owned a total of 100,216 residential properties in Korea as of the end of last year.
About 23,741 of those homes—roughly 24 percent—were located in Seoul. When combined with holdings in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, more than half of all foreign-owned residential units are concentrated in the capital region.
The land area owned by foreign nationals also continued to expand, reaching 267.9 million square meters last year, up 1.2 percent from the previous year.
Of that, about 21 percent—56.85 million square meters—was located in the greater Seoul area.
Authorities have voiced concern that some of these transactions may involve opaque sources of funding or be structured to circumvent Korea’s domestic lending regulations through foreign financial institutions.
This has led to growing criticism over potential tax and loan policy loopholes that could create unfair advantages for foreign investors over domestic ones.
To address these issues, Seoul plans to scrutinize the source of funds declared in foreign real estate transaction reports and closely investigate any flagged transactions shared by the land ministry.
The city also plans to verify actual occupancy in foreign purchases located in designated land transaction permit zones through on-site inspections.
Officials will request additional documentation such as financial source statements and visa status certificates as part of the verification process.
If buyers are found to have violated property usage regulations, they may be ordered to comply or face fines of up to 10 percent of the purchase price.
Seoul will also work with local district offices to maintain a regular database of foreign real estate activity and has proposed related legal revisions to the national government earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly is reviewing legislation that would introduce a “principle of reciprocity” to foreign real estate ownership in Korea.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, speaking at the city council’s regular session on June 11, emphasized that stronger measures may be needed if evidence emerges that foreign investment is contributing to rapid housing price inflation.
He said that the city is currently in talks with the land ministry to assess whether such regulatory actions are warranted.
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Seoul to tighten oversight on foreign property purchases

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