Strengthening Market Oversight Functions
Government Announces New Measures for Housing Supply Expansion
The government has decided to strengthen its market oversight functions as part of its housing supply measures, including the establishment of a new organization composed of relevant agencies. This decision is based on the assessment that, due to the unique characteristics of the market, a small number of unusual transactions can have a significant impact and may reduce transparency.
The organization under consideration will be centered around the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Financial Services Commission, the National Tax Service, and the Financial Supervisory Service. The National Police Agency, which has investigative authority, will also participate. The government plans to establish grounds for penalties related to speculative real estate businesses and false listings, and, if deemed necessary, will conduct joint crackdowns in cooperation with the police and special judicial police officers from local governments.
At a briefing on September 7 regarding measures to expand housing supply, Lee Sangkyung, the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "We believe that we can supplement the existing real estate special judicial police, as well as enhance the connectivity of monitoring systems between the Ministry, the National Tax Service, and the Financial Services Commission." He added, "The specific name and structure of the new organization have not yet been decided, but we will make it public once consultations are complete."
A panoramic view of apartment complexes in Mapo District as seen from Namsan, Seoul. 2025.06.27 Photo by Dongju Yoon
For cases suspected of legal violations, the government will notify the relevant agencies and regularly share the results of each agency's actions. By analyzing these results, the government expects to improve the accuracy of selecting future targets for abnormal transaction investigations. To respond proactively, the system for analyzing patterns and signs of illegal real estate activities, such as rental fraud, using artificial intelligence (AI) technology will also be further enhanced.
To strengthen the management of housing sales contract reporting, real estate agents will be required to submit both the contract and proof of deposit of the contract payment when filing a report. This can be implemented by simply revising the enforcement regulations. The government will conduct focused investigations into reported transactions involving high-priced homes valued at 2 billion won or more, and will expand the scope of on-site inspections and planned investigations, currently limited to Seoul apartments, to include overheated areas in the greater Seoul metropolitan area. The second round of investigations (covering reports from March to April this year) is currently underway, with a total of six rounds planned by the end of the year.
The government will add new loan types, such as "business loans" and "loans from overseas financial institutions," to the list of loan types that must be included in the funding plan for home purchases. The self-funding category will also be subdivided into housing and land, rental deposits, proceeds from cryptocurrency sales, and so on. Currently, submission of a funding plan and supporting documents is mandatory only in speculative zones, but the government is also considering extending this requirement to land transaction permit zones.
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