A company identified only as "#00" purchased 19 plots of land and detached homes in Seoul's Gangseo-gu for 22.25 billion won ($15.2 million), dealing directly with multiple sellers. An investigation found the company submitted no documentation related to payment, and in 10 of the transactions the date the initial deposit was paid differed from the contract date listed in the filings.
The case is among the suspected violations uncovered in a crackdown on irregular real estate transactions — including corporate-name purchases and rapid repeated sales — that authorities say risk distorting market order. The cases are to be referred to the National Tax Service and local governments, which may impose fines or penalties and pursue back-tax collection through tax-evasion analysis.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Thursday it had uncovered 457 suspected violations across 346 real estate transactions near new housing supply sites in the greater Seoul area over the past five years, and that it plans to refer the cases to the National Tax Service, local governments and other relevant agencies.
The targeted investigation was launched to curb speculation and irregular trading following the government's Jan. 29 announcement of a plan to build 60,000 homes starting in 2027 by developing 46 idle public land sites in central Seoul and other metropolitan urban areas under its "Urban Housing Supply Expansion and Acceleration" initiative.
A total of 1,072 transactions were placed under review across Seoul's Nowon, Yongsan, Dongdaemun, Eunpyeong, Gangseo and Geumcheon-gu districts, as well as Gwacheon, Seongnam Sujeong, Gwangmyeong, Hanam, Namyangju and Goyang in Gyeonggi Province. The transactions flagged for scrutiny included corporate-name purchases, out-of-region buyers, rapid repeated sales, bulk lot acquisitions and fractional trades in roads and forests.
Of the 457 violations identified, false reporting of prices or contract dates was the most common category at 249 cases, followed by excessive borrowing from related parties at 178 cases, misuse of loan funds at 16 cases and violations of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act at 14 cases. False price or contract-date filings can carry a fine of up to 10 percent of the acquisition value, while cases involving excessive loans from related parties will be subject to back-tax collection by the National Tax Service.
The ministry and the Korea Real Estate Board said they will continue close monitoring of sale prices, out-of-region transactions and other market trends in 12 existing regulated zones in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, as well as newly designated areas including Guri, Yongin Giheung and Hwaseong Dongtan in Gyeonggi Province, and regions at risk of a balloon effect from those regulations. The ministry added it will also step up scrutiny of irregular transactions near the planned Honam semiconductor advanced national industrial complex — newly designated as a land transaction permit zone — and in semiconductor growth hubs in South Gyeongsang Province, the Daegu-North Gyeongsang region and the Chungcheong region.
Shin Yun-geun, the ministry's land policy director, said the ministry "will continue to actively pursue targeted investigations into irregular transactions that distort market order, and will take strict action in cooperation with relevant agencies when suspected illegal transactions are confirmed."
smh@heraldcorp.com
