📌 목차 (Table of Contents)

Table of Contents

Korea has never barred foreigners from owning real estate, but the rules have tightened quickly. Since August 2025, a foreigner buying a home anywhere in Seoul and much of the surrounding metropolitan area needs government permission in advance and must live there for two years. Since February 2026, foreign buyers must also disclose their visa status, where they live, and where their overseas funds come from. On the tax side, foreigners pay the same acquisition tax rates as Korean nationals. Those rates include steep surcharges for multi-home households, for companies buying housing, and for newly formed companies in the Seoul metropolitan area.

The Reporting Layer: Which Filing, and When

Purchases: The Standard Transaction Report
For an ordinary purchase, the general real estate transaction report covers the foreign buyer. It must be filed with the local government within 30 days of signing, and the agent usually files it when one brokers the deal.

What Foreign Buyers Now Have to Disclose
Since February 10, 2026, a foreign buyer’s report must include visa status, domestic address, and whether the buyer has lived in Korea for 183 days or more. For housing in permit zones, the funding plan must also cover:

  • overseas borrowing
  • the foreign financial institutions involved
  • use of overseas deposits
  • related loans

Other Contracts, Non-Contract Acquisitions, and Change of Status

  • Exchange or gift: report within 60 days of the contract.
  • Inheritance, auction, court judgment, merger, or a new building: report within 6 months of acquiring.
  • A Korean owner who becomes a foreigner, or a Korean company that becomes majority foreign-owned: report continued ownership within 6 months of the change.

Protected Zones Need Permission, Not Just a Report
Military protection zones, cultural heritage areas, ecological conservation areas, and special wildlife protection zones require permission before signing. A contract signed without it has no effect. In August 2026, 353 strategic islands, including Ulleungdo, were added.

Who Counts as a “Foreigner”
The rules cover foreign individuals, foreign companies, and Korean entities that are 50% or more foreign-owned. That includes foreign-invested subsidiaries and majority-foreign funds or REITs.

The Metropolitan Permit Zone: A Two-Year Residence Commitment

Where and What It Covers
The zone covers all of Seoul, 23 Gyeonggi cities and counties, and designated Incheon districts. Apartments, row houses, multi-family and multi-unit houses, and detached homes are all included. The designation has been extended to August 25, 2027.

The Residence Obligation
The buyer must move in within four months of approval and live there for two years. The penalties are:

  • corrective orders and repeated performance penalties of up to 10% of the acquisition price;
  • possible revocation of the permit;
  • a contract signed without permission has no effect;
  • up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 20 million.

What This Means in Practice
Buyers who want to rent the property out, or who are buying it for a child studying in Korea, generally won’t qualify. Since the October 2025 measures, all of Seoul and 12 Gyeonggi areas are also general permit zones and regulated areas for every buyer, so foreigners face two overlapping regimes there.

Acquisition Tax: Same Rates as Korean Nationals, Same Surcharges

The Baseline
A first home is taxed at 1% up to KRW 600 million, 3% above KRW 900 million, and a graduated rate in between, plus surtaxes. Bills for an extra 20–30% tax on foreign or non-resident buyers have been introduced several times, but none has been enacted.

Multi-Home Surcharges
In an adjustment area, a second home is taxed at 8% and a third or later home at 12%. Outside adjustment areas, the surcharge starts with the third home. All of Seoul and several Gyeonggi areas are now adjustment areas. A buyer temporarily holding two homes while moving can keep the standard rate by selling the earlier home in time.

How Homes Are Counted for a Foreign Buyer
Only homes in Korea count, but the count is made per household. For a foreign buyer, the household is set by alien registration and domestic residence records. A spouse generally belongs to the same household even when living separately, so a spouse’s Korean home can turn the purchase into a “second home.”

Companies Buying Housing
Companies pay a flat 12% on housing, which usually makes leasing executive housing cheaper than owning it.

The Surcharge That Catches Newly Formed Foreign-Invested Companies

The Five-Year Metropolitan Rule
A company that acquires real estate within five years of being established in the Seoul overpopulation control area, or of setting up a branch or relocating there, pays heavy acquisition tax. On commercial property, the rate roughly doubles from 4% to 8% before surtaxes. The surcharge applies to any real estate acquired in that window, not only office premises.

Why Foreign Investors Get Caught
A new Seoul subsidiary that buys its office or a warehouse in its first few years falls squarely within the rule, and so does a new branch. Registration license tax on incorporation and capital increases carries a similar threefold surcharge. Decide where to incorporate, whether to lease first, and when to buy as one plan.

Foreign Exchange and Exit Planning

Bringing the Money In
A non-resident must generally file a foreign exchange report with a designated bank before acquiring and bring the funds in through a documented remittance.

Taking the Money Out
Sending sale proceeds abroad typically requires proof that the original funds came in lawfully and that capital gains tax was paid.

Practical Sequencing for a Foreign Buyer or Foreign-Invested Company

  1. Check the property against every permit regime before negotiating.
  2. Confirm the buyer can meet the residence obligation of moving in within four months and staying two years.
  3. Count Korean homes at the household level, including a spouse’s, and price the surcharge rate.
  4. For a company, check the five-year metropolitan surcharge and the 12% housing rate before deciding whether to buy or lease.
  5. Document the funding path end to end: foreign exchange report, remittance, and funding plan.
  6. File every report on time: 30 days for a purchase, 60 days for other contracts, 6 months for non-contract acquisitions and changes of status.