The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will strengthen field inspections of the real estate market in Seoul. Inspections focused on the Gangnam Three Districts (Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa), Mapo, Yongsan, and Seongdong will expand to cover the entire Seoul area and metropolitan areas such as Gwacheon and Bundang in Seongnam. A planned investigation into illegal foreign real estate transactions will also be conducted.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport noted on the 3rd that starting this month, it will strengthen the joint field inspections conducted with related agencies such as the Seoul city government, districts, and the Korea Real Estate Agency in major areas of Seoul to stabilize the real estate market and establish transaction order.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will expand the scope of field inspections that were previously focused on a total of 88 complexes in the Gangnam Three Districts, Mapo, Yongsan, and Seongdong until the end of last month. In the future, the inspection areas will include the entire Seoul area and metropolitan areas such as Gwacheon and Bundang in Seongnam. The number of inspection teams currently operating in three groups will also be increased to six to strengthen inspections. The inspection teams are made up of employees from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Seoul city government, Gyeonggi Province, cities, counties, districts, and the Korea Real Estate Agency.
The inspection team will check whether the funding details and supporting documents have been submitted. They will compare the items recorded in the funding plan, such as loans from financial institutions and borrowing funds among related parties, with the submitted supporting documents, and if any suspicious transactions are found, they will be included for a planned investigation and verified through separate explanatory materials. Additionally, they will focus on violations of loan regulations and the fulfillment of real residence obligations for land transaction permits.
In particular, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will commence a planned investigation into illegal activities related to foreign real estate transactions starting in July. Field inspections will be conducted regarding speculative transactions that may occur during the real estate transaction process for foreigners, such as illegal inflow of overseas funds and tax evasion.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to conduct a thorough investigation of high-priced housing transaction reports, suspected illegal transactions under corporate names (above a certain amount), and suspected transactions with very low ratios of own funds, to closely verify the appropriateness of funding plans. If any violations are confirmed, they will notify relevant agencies such as the National Tax Service, the Financial Services Commission, and local governments to take measures such as tax audits if tax evasion is confirmed, or the recovery of loans through financial institutions if loan regulations are violated.
Kim Kyu-cheol, the Director of the Housing and Land Office, said, “We plan to respond strongly and sternly to real estate illegal and unfair acts that disturb market transaction order for the sake of public housing and stabilization of the real estate market,” and added, “We will thoroughly block speculative demand through joint field inspections and planned investigations with related agencies until the real estate market stabilizes.”