President Lee warns against using business loans to buy homes as a loophole tactic

According to Financial News, President Lee Jae-myung on the 21st addressed the issue of people buying homes with business loans. He emphasized, "It is obvious which choice is more reasonable: facing criminal punishment for fraud, a tax investigation by the National Tax Service (NTS), and forced loan recall, or proactively repaying the loan voluntarily."
On the same day, President Lee shared a news article on X (formerly Twitter) reporting that, in the second half of last year, the number of homebuyers who listed business loans and similar products as funding sources had risen by 35% compared with a year earlier. He made these remarks in response to that report.
Earlier, on the 17th, President Lee had already warned on X, "If a financial institution refuses to provide a real estate purchase loan because it suspects speculative intent, and you falsely claim it is for business purposes to obtain a business loan and then use it to buy real estate, you can face criminal punishment for fraud." He added, "The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and the National Tax Service (NTS) can conduct a full-scale joint investigation, file criminal complaints for fraud, and recall the loans." His latest comments have effectively been backed up by actual statistics. At the time, he also stressed, "A government that upholds the sovereignty of the people does not make empty threats. I am telling you in advance so you do not suffer needless harm by trying to game the system."


cjk@fnnews.com Reporter Choi Jong-geun Reporter