View of apartments and other buildings seen from Namsan in Seoul (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Beginning early next year, foreign nationals purchasing property in designated permit zones will be required to submit detailed documentation explaining how they intend to finance their purchases, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday.
The regulation, part of a revised enforcement decree taking effect on February 10, follows concerns that some overseas buyers have acquired high-priced homes using foreign funds that are difficult to trace and are not subject to tightened domestic lending controls.
In August, the government designated most of Seoul, large areas of Gyeonggi Province and seven districts in Incheon as land transaction permit zones for foreigners. Purchases in these areas will require a financing plan and supporting evidence of how the funds were secured — including overseas loans, foreign bank deposits and the names of financial institutions involved in the transaction.
Officials said the new requirement is intended to make it easier to identify potential wrongdoing, including tax evasion or unregistered leasing arrangements, and to strengthen fairness and transparency in real estate taxation and government oversight.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
