South Koreans Struggling with Housing as Chinese-Owned Homes in Korea Exceed 60,000

The number of South Korean homes owned by Chinese nationals has increased by more than 16,000 over a three-year period, surpassing 60,000 units.

However, it was found that the government does not separately compile statistics on the status of multi-home foreign owners by nationality or the scale of their housing transactions.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to People Power Party lawmaker Kim Mi-ae, homes in South Korea owned by Chinese nationals increased from 44,889 at the end of 2022 to 61,439 at the end of last year.

This represents an increase of 16,550 units, or 36.9 percent, over the three-year period, averaging about 5,500 units added each year.

During the same period, the total number of domestic homes owned by all foreigners also increased.

The total rose from 83,512 units at the end of 2022 to 108,231 units at the end of last year, marking an increase of 24,719 units, or 29.6 percent, over three years.

By nationality, Chinese owners accounted for the largest share with 61,439 units, followed by Americans with 23,187 units, Canadians with 6,542 units, Taiwanese with 3,392 units, and Vietnamese with 2,028 units.

The number of homes owned by Chinese nationals was approximately 2.6 times that owned by American nationals.

However, it was difficult to verify through detailed statistics how many houses foreigners own individually, or how many units they bought and sold each year.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 7,038 foreigners owned two or more homes in South Korea as of the end of last year.

Among them, 16 individuals owned 30 or more homes.

However, detailed information regarding their nationalities or the specific regions where they own these properties has not been disclosed.

Regarding the number of housing acquisitions and disposals by foreigners as well as transaction amounts, the ministry responded that it does not produce or publish such related information.

In response, critics point out that statistics should be supplemented to track not only the scale of foreign home ownership by nationality, but also the status of multi-home ownership and transaction trends.

Particularly in political circles, arguments have been raised that an accurate grasp of the actual situation is necessary to review the so-called real estate reciprocity principle.

The real estate reciprocity principle is the rule that if a foreign country restricts South Korean nationals from acquiring real estate, South Korea should likewise impose corresponding restrictions on nationals from that country.

(Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Sumin | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.