30 people purchased 8,000 homes: data

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Finance

Wed, December 6, 2023 | 09:25

Economy

30 people purchased 8,000 homes: data

Posted : 2023-09-21 08:48

Updated : 2023-09-21 17:14

Apartment buildings are seen from Mount Nam in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo

Nearly 8,000 homes were purchased by just 30 people over the past five and a half years, data showed on Wednesday.

Compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the data also showed the aggregate value of the aforementioned homes was worth 1.19 trillion won ($897.37 million).

Such property buying sprees suggest the government's housing rule against land speculation is not effective in curbing house prices, said Rep. Min Hong-chul of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) who is also a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee. The data was submitted to Rep. Min's office for public release.

According to the data, 30 people listed as the most frequent shoppers in the housing market bought 7,996 properties in total from 2018 to June this year.

The single biggest buyer turned out to have purchased 792 homes, worth 115.6 billion won. The second biggest buyer purchased 709 homes, worth 115.1 billion won.

The homes varied from apartments, the most popular housing option in Korea, to less popular low-rise multifamily residential complexes and detached homes.

Of the 30 purchasers, 24 focused on buying homes in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, where the housing demand is the highest in the country.

The 24 bought a total of 6,622 homes, worth a total of 1.45 trillion won.

Rep. Min argued the buying sprees by a handful of people are "due to deregulation in the greater Seoul area under the incumbent Yoon Suk Yeol administration."

"I thus ask the government to pursue a policy for balanced regional development," he added.

yistory@koreatimes.co.kr