Land ministry calls online real estate rumor false, refers case to police

South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has pushed back against online posts claiming the government will announce additional measures to stabilize household debt and the housing market in mid-November, calling the claims groundless.

The ministry said Friday that real estate policy-related content circulating online is false and that it plans to refer the matter to police for further investigation.

The posts, which spread rapidly through online communities and messaging apps, claimed the government would designate Bucheon, Suwon's Gwonseon-gu and Anyang's Manan-gu as regulated zones, and would cap mortgage loans at between 200 million and 400 million won ($298,000) depending on housing price.

The posts also included specific loan restriction details, such as lowering the loan-to-value ratio for first-time homebuyers in regulated zones from the current 70 percent to 40 percent, and reducing jeonse loan guarantee ratios in the Greater Seoul area and regulated zones by 10 percentage points starting next year.

"The real estate policy-related posts currently circulating online are entirely false," the ministry said, adding that it had already filed complaints in February, June and October this year over similar false posts on charges including obstruction of official duties through deception, and that those investigations are ongoing.

A ministry official said the agency plans to request an additional investigation into the latest round of posts. "Should similar cases of false information spreading occur in the future, we will respond strictly and forcefully," the official said.

Meanwhile, the Korea Real Estate Board's weekly apartment price survey for the first week of November 2026 (based on Monday) showed Seoul apartment prices rose 0.07 percent this week. The pace of increase eased from the previous week's 0.09 percent, but prices have now risen for 91 consecutive weeks.