A Listing in Gangnam Offers "KRW 600 Million in Seller Financing" ... Will President Lee's "Seller Financing" Spread?

A listing has appeared in Gangnam District, Seoul, where the homeowner offers to lend hundreds of millions of won. Attention is now turning to whether this transaction method will spread, as President Lee Jae-myung set a mortgage on his Yangji Village Apartment Complex in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, for KRW 1.77 billion while selling the property.
According to brokerage sources on the 21st, a 59-square-meter unit at Gangnam Jagok I-Park in Jagok-dong, Gangnam District, was listed with the phrase "KRW 600 million in seller financing." The asking price is KRW 2 billion, and the buyer would effectively pay KRW 1.2 billion in closing costs and interest on the KRW 600 million loan.
A broker in Gangnam District said, "Well-off homeowners set terms that allow them to receive interest at around market rates," adding, "Buyers who want to stretch themselves financially to move up to a better home have no reason to turn this down. The needs simply match."
This is a method often used in high-priced apartments when buyers struggle to secure funds after the October 15 Real Estate Policy sharply reduced mortgage limits. At present, loans are available up to KRW 600 million for homes priced at KRW 1.5 billion or less, KRW 400 million for homes priced above KRW 1.5 billion and up to KRW 2.5 billion, and KRW 200 million for homes above KRW 2.5 billion. However, as commercial banks have raised lending barriers, even these limits have become uncertain. Regulations have also tightened across the board, including strict restrictions on home purchases using business loans.
On top of that, pressure on multiple-home owners has intensified, including the end of the suspension of heavy capital gains tax on multiple-home owners on May 9. As a result, desperate sellers who need to dispose of homes quickly have turned to a "private loan" trick to attract demand.
An expert who requested anonymity said, "This is a method often used by sellers who have enough cash but need to sell quickly," adding, "It is a seller financing technique in which the seller arranges the funds, so it can be seen as a transaction using a private loan." The expert noted that similar deals were also common in December 2019, when mortgage lending was completely banned for apartments priced above KRW 1.5 billion in speculative areas and speculative overheating districts under the December 16 Real Estate Policy.
Meanwhile, President Lee signed a sales contract on the Yangji Village Apartment Complex in Sunae-dong, Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on the 14th for KRW 2.9 billion. Ownership was transferred on the 16th, and a mortgage was placed on the buyer with a maximum claim amount of KRW 1.77 billion.
See page 6 of the July 21, 2026 edition of this paper.
[email protected] Jeon Min-kyung Reporter