"An 8-year-old Chinese child owns an apartment, and an American teenager bought an apartment worth 2.7 billion won in Yongsan, Seoul."
This fact was revealed as a result of a recent government-initiated investigation into foreign speculative real estate transactions jointly with related ministries.
An American in his 40s owned 45 houses in the metropolitan area and Chungcheong area, and a Chinese female student who came on a student visa bought two villas in Incheon and received a monthly rent of 900,000 won each.
The number of foreigners acquiring real estate is rapidly increasing.
According to the Korea Real Estate Agency, the number of domestic building transactions by foreigners exceeded 20,000 for the first time in 2020 (21,48 cases), followed by 21,33 cases last year, exceeding 20,000 for two consecutive years.
Foreigners' transactions in domestic pure land (land except for cases in which land and buildings were collectively traded) also amounted to 6,583 cases (lots) last year, the highest number since the collection of related statistics in 2006.
According to the statistics of the pledges made by President Yoon Seok-yeol during his candidacy, the number of foreign apartment acquisitions last year increased five-fold compared to 2010, and among them, the number of Chinese residents increased 27-fold.
The proportion of apartment acquisitions by nationality was highest in the order of China (60.3%), the United States (18.1%), and Canada (9.2%).
The problem is that these foreigners are free from various real estate regulations.
For example, cases in which foreigners illegally procure domestic apartment funds through currency exchange (unregistered foreign exchange transactions) using virtual assets have been found.
Accordingly, the government is considering designating a specific area as a foreign real estate transaction permit zone and making it mandatory for foreigners who do not reside in Korea to submit a financing plan when acquiring a home in Korea.
These are all things that President Yun made as a promise, so there is a high possibility that it will become a reality through policy.
Kim In-man, director of the Real Estate Economic Research Institute, said, "In terms of protecting the people's right to live, regulations on foreign speculative housing transactions are necessary." The trend is getting stronger,” he explained.