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| An apartment complex in Gyeonggi Province/gettyimagebank |
By Kim Se-jeong
The Gyeonggi Province government's plan to impose regulations on foreign real estate investors is drawing a backlash from many who view it as discrimination.
According to a local government official, the regulations which may go into effect as early as mid-October will require foreign residential home buyers to receive a permit from a local district office before signing a contract for a property. In the permit, the buyer has to prove that the property would be for their own use, not for renting out purposes.
"It sounds like another case of scapegoating foreigners. While I'm sure the number of foreign transactions is up, I imagine it's insignificant compared to the number of transactions made by Koreans," a person from the U.S. who's currently looking to purchase a home in Seoul told The Korea Times.
"If they were to restrict us this way, I'm doubtful it would have any impact on real estate prices. To me, this is politically motivated and at the expense of foreign residents, many of whom call Korea their home".
Another person from New Zealand echoed that opinion, saying "Foreign residents are hurt by big increases in house prices just as much as Korean residents. If this is a smart policy, then why not make it universal instead of targeted against foreigners."
Not all areas in the province will be affected by the new regulations, and the provincial government will soon announce the areas to be affected by the new regulations.
The official defended the measure saying the intention was to stop real estate speculation and to make the housing market more affordable for Gyeonggi Province residents.
"We have many signs of real estate speculation in Gyeonggi which can affect people who need a home for themselves," the official said, adding that a permit would be easy to get if the property is for the buyer's use."
The entire country, including Gyeonggi Province, has seen the number of foreign real estate "investments" increasing.
Between May 2017 and May this year, 23,219 foreigners obtained 23,167 apartments across the country. This year alone from January and May, foreigners bought 3,514 apartments nationwide. There was no data specific to Gyeonggi Province available.
More than half of the foreigners are Chinese, followed by Americans and those of other nationalities.
The local and central governments recently tightened regulations to curb real estate speculation in Korea, but Gyeonggi Province was the first to target foreign investors alone.
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