Land ministry probes 840 suspected illegal real estate deals by foreigners

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday it has launched a targeted investigation into 840 suspected illegal real estate transactions by foreigners, selected from property deals — residential, non-residential and land — reported nationwide between June last year and July this year.

The investigation began last month, with results expected by the end of this year.

Investigators are drawing on additional data secured under a revised enforcement decree of the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act, which took effect in February, including proceeds from the sale of shares, bonds and cryptocurrency, loans from overseas financial institutions, and residency status. The ministry also applied newly established criteria for flagging suspicious transactions, allowing it to identify more cases than the 605 flagged in 2025.

The ministry is verifying the actual sources of funds behind the transactions, including overseas financing, and is investigating illegal activities such as the unlawful transfer of foreign funds into the country and operating rental businesses without the required visa status. It also plans to work with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and other local authorities to check whether buyers in land transaction permit zones are meeting their owner-occupancy requirements, in order to ensure effective curbs on speculation.

"We will thoroughly investigate and strictly handle any illegal transactions to ensure that foreign housing speculation does not undermine the integrity of South Korea's real estate market," said Shin Yun-geun, the ministry's land policy director.