South Korea to announce measures to supply new homes

Seoul, Sep 7 (IANS) Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Sunday that the government will announce measures to supply homes later in the day, with the aim of stabilising the property market.

"The government's top priority is stabilising the housing market and ensuring the residential stability of the people," Koo told KBS in an interview, without disclosing details of the planned measures, reports Yonhap news agency.

Koo said the government is aware of concerns over a rise in national debt, but it is time to invest in creating new growth engines for the economy as the country's potential growth rate is continuing to decrease.

Late last month, the government proposed a budget of 728 trillion won (US$522 billion) for next year, aiming to significantly boost spending on research and development and artificial intelligence to drive future economic growth.

The proposal marks an 8.1 percent increase from the government's budget for this year.

South Korea's national debt is projected to climb to over 51.6 percent of its gross domestic product in 2026 from 49.1 percent this year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Meanwhile, the number of homes in South Korea owned by foreigners increased by more than 20 percent under the previous administration, data showed, despite the former administration's pledge to curb speculative purchases by foreign nationals.

According to the data from the state-run Korea Real Estate Board submitted to the office of Rep. Park Yong-gap of the ruling Democratic Party, the number of foreign home ownership reached 99,830 as of end-2024, up from 82,666 two years earlier.

The 2024 tally marks a 20.7 percent rise over the two-year period under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

By nationality, Chinese nationals accounted for the largest share and the biggest increase, rising 24.6 percent to 59,722, followed by Americans, whose ownership increased by 2,145 to 20,036.

Vietnamese ownerships rose by 647 to 1,592, while Canadian home registrations increased by 482 to 5,341.

The number of new home purchases worth over 1.2 billion won (US$862,700) by foreigners was recorded at 546 during the period.

—IANS

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