South Korean Homeownership Strains as Chinese-Owned Homes Exceed 60,000

The number of homes in South Korea owned by Chinese nationals has surged by over 16,000 in a three-year period, surpassing 60,000 units.

However, it was found that the government does not separately compile statistics on the status of foreign multi-homeowners 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 Representative Kim Mi-ae, homes owned by Chinese nationals increased from 44,889 units at the end of 2022 to 61,439 units at the end of last year.

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

Broken down by nationality, Chinese nationals owned the most at 61,439 units, followed by Americans at 23,187 units, Canadians at 6,542 units, Taiwanese at 3,392 units, and Vietnamese at 2,028 units.

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

However, detailed statistics regarding how many homes foreigners own individually or how many they buy and sell each year were difficult to confirm.

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

Among them, 16 individuals owned 30 or more homes.

However, detailed information regarding their nationalities or the regions where these homes are located has not been disclosed.

Regarding the number of foreign acquisitions and disposals of homes as well as transaction amounts, the ministry stated that it does not produce or publish related information.

In light of this, critics point out that statistics should be supplemented to track not only the scale of housing ownership by nationality among foreigners, but also the status of multi-homeownership and transaction flows.

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

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