Only 67% of Foreign-owned Apartments for Residential Purposes
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mi announced on Aug. 25 that the ministry may implement regulations in order to block foreigners’ speculative real estate transactions.
That day, United Future Party lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon pointed out at the plenary meeting of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly that only 67.3 percent of apartments owned by foreigners are for actual residential purposes. “A very large number of nationals are having a hard time buying an apartment due to excessive lending regulations, and yet foreigners are buying more and more apartments in South Korea by borrowing money freely from their countries,” he said.
Then, the minister said that she was examining various options. “Apartment acquisition by foreigners accounted for 0.6 percent to 0.8 percent of the total from 2016 to the first half of this year and the ratio has not shown any substantial increase,” she mentioned, adding, “Although it is true that their lending regulations can be more advantageous for them, it is also true that discrimination against them is something we need to avoid.”
Then, the United Future Party lawmaker explained that a heavy tax rate of 20 percent is applied to foreigners buying houses in Singapore and Hong Kong imposes a tax of 30 percent on resale within three years. “The government has to prevent any further real estate market confusion by implementing stricter measures,” he went on to say.