he file photo shows an aerial view of a large apartment complex in Seoul’s southeastern Songpa district. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — While South Koreans’ real estate transactions remain frozen due to the government’s strong regulations, such transactions by foreigners hit an all-time high, triggering controversy over reverse discrimination.
According to the data from the Korea Real Estate Board, foreigners’ transactions in South Korean land and properties in the January to September period of this year totaled 16,405 cases, the highest since the data was compiled in 2006.
When it comes to Korean nationals, their real estate transactions are subject to various regulations, including a cap on mortgage loans and heavy taxation for multiple-property owners.
Foreigners, however, are relatively free from such regulations, with their real estate transactions being done more freely.
The number of apartments acquired by foreigners during the period from 2017 to May 2020 totaled 23,167 cases, with the total value of the transactions estimated at 7.7 trillion won. As of June 2020, the number of registered foreign landlords here stood at 2,394.
Another problem is that the statistics on foreigners’ real estate transactions here are not properly compiled or unveiled.
“There are no official statistics on foreigners’ possession of domestic land and properties, making it difficult to accurately assess the situation,” said Suh Jin-hyung, a business management professor at Kyungin Women’s University and chairman of the Korea Real Estate Society.
“If the government fails to prevent foreigner’s speculative transactions, it could be mired in a controversy over reverse discrimination of regulations.”
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
