The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has uncovered 88 additional cases of suspected illegal real estate transactions by foreigners involving non-residential properties and land in a year-long investigation.
The findings follow 210 suspicious transactions the ministry reported to relevant agencies last month. The latest cases include 11 land transactions and 79 non-residential property deals including officetels.
The violations involved illegal overseas fund transfers, unlicensed rental businesses, disguised gift transfers, misuse of loan funds, false reporting of transaction amounts and contract dates, and illegal resales.
In one case, a foreign national identified as A purchased a Seoul officetel for 395 million won ($290,000) earlier this year. Of the purchase funds, 365 million won was paid in cash rather than through bank loans. The individual was found to have smuggled large amounts of cash into the country multiple times without customs declarations and now faces investigation by the Korea Customs Service.
In another case, foreigner B purchased a detached house in Gyeonggi Province for 1.45 billion won. B obtained a loan from a financial institution using a personally owned apartment as collateral, claiming the funds were for living expenses. The individual was reported to the Financial Services Commission for concealing the true purpose of the loan.
A foreign national C was found to have purchased a Seoul apartment for 1.18 billion won, with approximately 300 million won of the funds brought in through overseas remittances and undeclared cash carried into the country.
In a case involving disguised gift transfers, D borrowed 3.8 billion won from a company where D served as an inside director to purchase a 4.9 billion won apartment in Seoul. The company was found to have improperly accounted for the loan, raising suspicions of corporate fund misappropriation.
Other violations included deliberately misreporting contract dates for land purchases in Seoul and illegal resales where individuals had others purchase apartments on their behalf, then conducted direct sales of the purchase rights after resale restriction periods ended.
The ministry said it will notify the Ministry of Justice, Financial Services Commission, National Tax Service, and Korea Customs Service about these suspected violations to ensure follow-up actions including police investigations and collection of unpaid taxes.
The ministry also plans to crack down on foreigners violating residency requirements in designated land transaction permit zones. In August, the government designated major areas in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province as foreigner land transaction permit zones, restricting purchases for purposes other than actual residence.
Under the designation, foreigners must move into purchased properties within four months. The government said it will verify compliance through on-site inspections with local governments. Those who fail to meet residency requirements face repeated fines of up to 10 percent of the land acquisition value until they comply.
"We will respond strictly to illegal activities in foreigners' real estate transactions regardless of whether they involve housing, non-residential properties, or land," a ministry official said. "We plan to strengthen management and supervision of all foreign real estate transactions through cooperation with the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Ministry of Justice, National Tax Service, and Korea Customs Service."
