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| ▲ This image taken from Mount Nam on Aug. 31, 2025, shows apartment complexes in central Seoul. (Yonhap) |
foreigners-home ownership
Foreign home ownership jumps 21 pct under former gov't: lawmaker
SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) -- The number of homes in South Korea owned by foreigners increased by more than 20 percent under the previous administration, data showed Thursday, despite the former administration's pledge to curb speculative purchases by foreign nationals.
According to the data from the state-run Korea Real Estate Board submitted to the office of Rep. Park Yong-gap of the ruling Democratic Party, the number of foreign home ownership reached 99,830 as of end-2024, up from 82,666 two years earlier.
The 2024 tally marks a 20.7 percent rise over the two-year period under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
By nationality, Chinese nationals accounted for the largest share and the biggest increase, rising 24.6 percent to 59,722, followed by Americans, whose ownership increased by 2,145 to 20,036.
Vietnamese ownerships rose by 647 to 1,592, while Canadian home registrations increased by 482 to 5,341.
The number of new home purchases worth over 1.2 billion won (US$862,700) by foreigners was recorded at 546 during the period.
"The previous Yoon government identified curbing foreign housing speculation as a key policy task, but in reality, foreigners have continued to acquire homes with relative ease," Park said. "With countries like Canada and Australia tightening regulations on speculative foreign home purchases, South Korea should also consider introducing similar measures."
As part of efforts to curb speculative foreign demand, the current Lee Jae Myung government introduced new measures last month, requiring foreign individuals, corporations and governments to obtain prior purchase approval from local authorities under the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act, with contracts signed without approval deemed invalid.
In addition, foreign buyers must move into their purchased property within four months and reside there for at least two years, while noncompliance will be subject to fines. Transactions suspected of involving illicit overseas capital inflows will be reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit for review under anti-money laundering rules.
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