The government investigated real estate transactions carried out near new dwelling supply sites in the Seoul metropolitan area and uncovered 346 transactions suspected of violations. Cases were revealed in which the contract date and transaction price were falsely reported, or in which corporations and related parties mobilized funds to purchase real estate.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 30th that, in line with the downtown dwelling supply expansion plan released early this year, it examined 1,072 real estate transactions near new dwelling supply sites in Seoul and Gyeonggi and uncovered 457 suspected illegal acts in 346 transactions suspected of violations.
This special investigation was conducted targeting areas announced as new dwelling supply sites in Seoul and Gyeonggi under the Jan. 29 downtown dwelling supply expansion plan.
Those surveyed were transactions carried out from January 2021 to February this year in parts of Seoul's Nowon District and Yongsan, Dongdaemun, Eunpyeong, Gangseo, and Geumcheon districts, and in parts of Gyeonggi's Gwacheon City and Seongnam, Gwangmyeong, Hanam, Namyangju, and Goyang cities. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) focused on corporate and out-of-area purchases, repeated short-term resales, purchases of multiple lots, and equity transactions of road and forest land.
Among the suspected violations, false reporting of contract dates and prices was the most frequent at 249 cases. There were 178 cases suspected of tax evasion, such as excessive borrowing fund from related parties, 16 cases of using loan funds for nonintended purposes, and 14 cases of violating the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act and others. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) plans to notify local governments, the National Tax Service, financial authorities, and special judicial police of the details.
In Seoul's Gangseo District, a corporation purchased land and 19 single-family dwellings for about 22.25 billion won without submitting transaction payment data, and signs were uncovered that some contract dates and transaction types were reported contrary to the facts. In Seongnam, Gyeonggi, a case was confirmed in which the buyer paid 400 million won in relocation compensation for an existing tenant but excluded it from the reported price.
In Seoul's Yongsan District, it was found that a corporation purchased a single-family dwelling with money borrowed from its CEO and then repaid the borrowing fund with a working capital loan, indicating that a loan obtained for corporate operations was indirectly used for a real estate purchase.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), together with the Korea Real Estate Board (REB), plans to continuously inspect abnormal transactions not only in regulated areas of Seoul and Gyeonggi but also in newly regulated areas such as Guri in Gyeonggi, Giheung in Yongin, and Dongtan in Hwaseong.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is also checking transaction trends in the Honam advanced semiconductor national industrial complex candidate site newly designated as a land transaction permission zone and nearby areas. It also plans to continuously monitor for abnormal transactions in Gyeongnam and the Daegu–Gyeongbuk region (materials, parts, and equipment innovation hub) and the Chungcheong region (packaging hub), which have been designated as semiconductor growth bases outside the Honam region.
Shin Yun-geun, land policy director at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), said, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will continue to actively carry out special investigations into abnormal transactions that disrupt market order, and if suspected illegal transactions are confirmed, we will take strict action in cooperation with relevant agencies."