Foreign Real Estate Illegal Transaction Suspicions More Than Double in a Year... Nearly Half Involve Chinese Nationals

The number of suspicious real estate transactions by foreigners reported to relevant authorities for potential illegal activities has more than doubled over the span of a year, primarily concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area and high-priced properties.

According to parliamentary audit data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jong-yang's office on the National Policy Committee, the number of flagged suspicious foreign real estate transactions in Seoul surged from 64 in 2024 to 135 last year.

The upward trend was particularly pronounced in high-end transactions.

Transactions valued at 3 billion won or more more than doubled from 29 to 62 over the same period, while transactions between 1 billion and 3 billion won increased from 18 to 28.

By nationality, Chinese nationals accounted for the largest share.

Out of 383 flagged transactions categorized by nationality last year, Chinese nationals accounted for 184, nearing half, followed by U.S. nationals with 107.

Suspicious transactions refer to deals selected for investigation due to abnormal indicators in transaction amounts or financing methods.

If investigations reveal suspected legal violations such as illegal introduction of overseas funds, expedient gifts, or false reporting, the cases are referred to relevant authorities.

Foreign ownership of domestic land is also steadily expanding.

The number of domestic land plots owned by foreigners increased by 18.6% at the end of last year compared to 167,725 plots at the end of 2021.

The officially assessed land value of foreign-owned properties also rose by 6.5% from 32.0554 trillion won to 34.1431 trillion won over the same period.

In particular, land owned by Chinese nationals jumped 32.8% from 64,171 plots to 85,237 plots over the same period, with its officially assessed value surging 31.0% from 3.2845 trillion won to 4.3033 trillion won.

Meanwhile, domestic loan regulations have been significantly tightened recently, raising concerns over fairness in fund-raising compared to foreign buyers.

Looking at housing financing plans in Seoul from February to April this year, 52.2% of foreign buyers did not report any financial institution loans.

Because foreigners can secure funds from overseas, they are relatively less affected by domestic loan regulations.

Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Eui-sun | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.