Clusters of apartments are seen from an observation deck at Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul.

Seoul cracks down on misuse of land, starting with foreign nationals

(The Korea Herald/ANN) -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Monday that it has taken administrative action against three foreign nationals who failed to use real estate acquired in land transaction permit zones in accordance with their approved purposes.
According to the city government, the violations were discovered in late June as part of a broader inspection campaign of 8,000 properties launched by the city government and its district offices to inspect land use compliance.
The initiative focused on 99 foreign acquisitions of domestic real estate and unregistered real estate brokerage activities, as authorities had identified permit non-compliance by foreign purchasers in the past.
Two of the three cases involved purchasers who obtained land use permits by stating they would run their own businesses there, but the inspection found no business activity.
The other case concerned a residential permit issued to a purchaser who had said they would live in the property but failed to provide documents proving residence there.
For residential permits, on-site inspections were conducted to verify the owner’s presence using tenant records, mailbox checks and evidence of package delivery. In cases where such verification methods were difficult to carry out, the city government left notices and revisited the property at a later date.
Those found to be in violation of their permits are issued a corrective order and must take appropriate action within three months. Noncompliance can result in fines and criminal charges.
The city government is also investigating illegal real estate brokering by unlicensed individuals.
On the city government’s communication channel, where reports of such unlicensed brokers can be made, a person known as “Gangnam Unnie” has been identified as being active in online real estate communities. The user allegedly solicits buyers through social media without a license and works with a certified broker to receive commissions. The case has been referred to the city government’s Special Judicial Police Bureau for Public Safety.
Seoul has expanded its joint inspection campaign with district governments and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to cover all 25 districts and investigate cases involving unlicensed brokers, with inspections carried out more than three times a week.
The city is reviewing land-use compliance, sources of funds and other irregularities as part of a preemptive crackdown on speculative transactions and market disruption.
“We will continue to take firm action against market-distorting behavior, including misuse of land permits and illegal brokerage, with no exceptions,” said Cho Nam-joon, head of the Seoul Urban Space Policy Bureau.

(Latest Update July 22, 2025)