Gyeonggi-do Cracks Down on Suspicious Land Speculation Transactions: 785 Caught, Fines Total 750 Million Won

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Gyeonggi Province conducted a thorough investigation into suspicious transactions involving planned real estate and identified 785 individuals engaged in illegal activities such as false or delayed reporting of actual real estate transactions, imposing fines totaling 750 million KRW. Additionally, 104 suspected cases of illicit gift transfers were reported to the relevant tax offices, and 40 cases of attempts to evade land transaction permits were referred for investigation.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 20th that from February to June this year, it detected 1,189 suspicious planned real estate speculative transactions in 18 cities and counties within the province through the 'Planned Real Estate Continuous Monitoring System,' which was further developed by the province.

This system immediately initiates tracking when transaction patterns match the province’s planned real estate transaction algorithm, based on real-time transaction data received from sources such as the Korea Real Estate Board, including factors like share transactions, land use zones, and transaction frequency over time.

One major case involved Corporation A, which was required to report a forest land sales contract in Hanam City signed with buyer Mr. B in October 2022 within 30 days but falsely reported the transaction date as June 2023. Consequently, Hanam City imposed fines of 4 million KRW each on the seller and buyer.

Mr. C entered into a transaction contract with Corporation D for actual ownership transfer of forest land in Siheung City, designated as a land transaction permit zone. However, it was discovered that they set up a mortgage to evade the permit and transferred ownership after the permit zone was lifted, leading to a request for investigation by authorities.

Other cases reported to the tax offices included instances where minors’ land purchase payments were made on their behalf to evade gift tax and transactions with unclear sources of funds.

Gyeonggi Province continues to operate the 'Planned Real Estate Illegal Activity (Damage) Reporting Center' to eradicate illegal activities related to planned real estate. It also accepts reports from victims of planned real estate fraud and refers cases to investigative agencies. Fraud reports and consultations can be made through Gyeonggi Province’s 'Planned Real Estate Illegal Activity (Damage) Reporting Center (031-8008-5357)'.

Ko Jung-guk, Director of the Land Information Division of Gyeonggi Province, emphasized, "We will continuously track and conduct intensive investigations into illicit planned real estate speculative transactions. We will strive to establish a fair and transparent transaction order by imposing administrative measures and referring illegal matters to investigative agencies."