The Seoul city government announced on the 7th that it conducted an investigation into 11,578 cases of false or delayed reporting of real estate transactions over the past year, discovering 1,573 violations and imposing 6.3 billion won in fines.
Among the types of violations, delayed reporting was the most prevalent with 1,327 cases. Once a real estate transaction is concluded, the transaction information must be reported to the relevant local government within 30 days, which was not adhered to. A total of 222 cases of non-reporting, lack of data submission, and false submissions, as well as 24 cases of false reporting of transaction prices, were also identified.
In addition to fines imposed for violations, 3,662 cases suspected of tax evasion related to special relationships and borrowing fund transactions were reported to the National Tax Service.
In a specific case, a seller identified as A and a buyer identified as B falsely reported the transaction price of a single-family home and multi-family home as 300 million won, lower than the actual transaction price of more than 700 million won. The Seoul city government imposed fines exceeding 70 million won on both the seller and the buyer.
Cases reported to the National Tax Service for suspected gifts include ▲ borrowing 200 million won from a father when purchasing an apartment for 800 million won, ▲ real estate transactions between buyers and sellers with special relationships (such as family), and ▲ suspected cases of tax evasion involving the diversion of corporate funds and suspicious funding origins.
Since last month, the Seoul city government has been expanding joint inspections with related agencies such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, autonomous districts, and the Korea Real Estate Agency against illegal activities that distort the real estate market. In particular, it is checking the substance of funding plans, compliance with lending regulations, and adherence to the real residency obligation in land transactions after the loan restrictions implemented on June 27.
Jo Nam-jun, head of the Urban Space Headquarters of Seoul, said, "We will strengthen investigations and responses to unusual transactions to enhance market transparency and establish a healthy transaction order centered on genuine demand."