"Paid Entirely in Cash"—Despite an Annual Salary of 90 Million Won, Bought a 12.5 Billion Won House in Seoul... Authorities Investigate Suspicious Foreign Transactions

[Financial News]#. Individual A, a foreign national, purchased a single-family home in Seoul for 12.5 billion won, paying the entire amount in cash. Although A’s annual income in Korea is only about 90 million won, the source of funds used to buy the property remains unclear. It is reported that A transferred business income earned overseas to a third-country bank and then used those funds for the purchase. However, the government decided to notify the National Tax Service (NTS) as A failed to provide detailed income documentation.In the past year, 210 cases of suspected abnormal real estate transactions by foreigners, similar to the above, have been detected. On the 17th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) announced that, after investigating 438 real estate transactions by foreigners from June 2024 to May 2025, they identified 290 suspected violations in 210 cases (47.9%).

The types of violations were diverse. The most common was false reporting of transaction amounts or contract dates, with 162 cases. Other violations included illegal inflow of overseas funds (39 cases), unqualified leasing activities (5 cases), illicit gifting (57 cases), misuse of loans for purposes other than stated (13 cases), and transactions under borrowed names (14 cases).
In particular, Individual A, mentioned earlier, was found to have inherited the rental deposit and earned monthly rental income from an apartment in Incheon Metropolitan City, despite holding an H-2 Work and Visit Visa (H-2), which does not permit leasing activities. Another foreigner, Individual B, purchased four homes in Seoul, bringing in 570 million won in foreign currency without declaration or by using illegal money transfers from acquaintances, out of a total purchase price of 1.735 billion won.
Other detected cases included the purchase of a Seoul apartment for 6.8 billion won using a 4.6 billion won loan from a corporation in which the buyer was a shareholder, and the acquisition of a Seoul apartment for 3.1 billion won, during which a jeonse contract was signed with the buyer’s parents as tenants for a 2 billion won deposit, and an additional 300 million won was borrowed from the parents.

By nationality, China accounted for the most cases with 125, followed by the United States of America (USA) with 78, Australia with 21, and Canada with 14. By region, Seoul had the highest number at 88, followed by Gyeonggi Province (61), South Chungcheong Province (Chungnam) (48), and Incheon Metropolitan City (32).
MOLIT is notifying all relevant agencies of the detected cases by type of violation for follow-up action. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) plans to impose penalties of up to three years in prison or fines of up to 30 million won for unauthorized profit-seeking activities outside visa status.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination’s Real Estate Supervision Task Force is also considering raising the level of sanctions and penalties to eradicate illegal real estate transactions by foreigners. Specific measures to strengthen penalties will be discussed at the next meeting. Kim Gyu-cheol, Director General for Housing and Land at MOLIT, stated, "We will continue to make every effort to establish order in the real estate market by thoroughly carrying out ongoing special investigations into abnormal housing transactions in the Seoul metropolitan area and non-housing/land transactions by foreigners through the end of the year."
[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter