Inside a Korean land transaction permit zone, buying or selling land above a set area — for a flat, its land share — needs a permit from the mayor, county head or district head, and a contract made without one has no effect. That is Article 11 of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions. If the permit was for your own home, you must use it that way for 2 years from acquisition (Decree Art. 14), and breaches can draw a penalty of up to 10% of the acquisition price each year (Act Art. 18, Decree Art. 16). This sets out the area thresholds, permit test, duty periods, penalties and criminal sanctions, with a calculator.
1. Urban residential land over 60 m² needs a permit. A designation notice can set 10% to 300% of that.
2. Bought as your own home? Use it so for 2 years from acquisition.
3. Penalties: 10% if left unused, 7% if let out, 5% if use changed without approval — once a year until complied with.
When a permit is needed — Decree Article 9
| Zone | No permit at or below | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Urban · residential | 60 m² | For a flat we read this as the land share |
| Urban · commercial or industrial | 150 m² | — |
| Urban · green | 200 m² | — |
| Urban · no zone designated | 60 m² | — |
| Outside urban areas | 250 m² (farmland 500, forest 1,000) | — |
If the designating authority finds these unsuitable, it may set the threshold anywhere from 10% to 300% of the base and publish it (Art. 9(1) proviso). Buying parts of one plot within a year counts as one deal (para. 2), and the first deal after a split or in a co-ownership share counts as above the threshold (para. 3).
Calculator
Updates as you type. The area rule follows Decree Article 9(1); a designation notice may set it anywhere from 10% to 300% of the base, so enter the notice ratio. A designation can also target particular buyers or uses (Act Art. 10(1)), which this calculator doesn’t check. The penalty is the rate in Decree Article 16(3) times the actual acquisition price.
Procedure and effect — Act Article 11
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Who | The parties jointly apply to the mayor, county or district head | Includes pre-contracts and changes |
| Papers | Contract terms, land use plan and funding plan | Funding plan changes can be filed up to registration |
| Decision | Permit or refusal within the civil petition period; with no notice by then, a permit is deemed the next day | Unless a pre-emption consultation is under way |
| Effect | A contract without a permit has no effect | — |
When the permit must be given — Act Article 12
The authority must grant the permit unless the purpose isn’t on the statutory list, conflicts with land use plans, or the area doesn’t fit the purpose. First on the list is “using it as land for one’s own residential house”; others include welfare facilities for residents, farming by local farmers, public works, and uses needed for local residents’ daily life.
After buying — Act Arts. 17–18, Decree Arts. 14 and 16
| Permit purpose | Use duty (from acquisition) | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Own home, welfare facilities, local farming (Art. 12(1)(a)–(c)) | 2 years | — |
| Public works etc. ((d)–(f)) | 4 years | Ends at completion of sales if bought to sell |
| Replacement land | 2 years | — |
| Preservation and other cases | 5 years | — |
| Breach | Penalty (share of acquisition price) | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Left unused | 10% | The Act’s ceiling |
| Let out instead of used directly | 7% | — |
| Use changed without approval | 5% | — |
| Other | 7% | — |
A written order first sets a compliance period of up to 3 months; the penalty follows if it isn’t met. It can be repeated once a year from the first order until compliance, but not after the duty period ends. Complying stops new charges, though those already imposed are collected. The price is the actual transaction price; objections are due within 30 days. In our example, land bought for 1 billion won and left unused draws 100 million won per charge; let out, 70 million won.
Temporary rule. Decree Article 14-2 moves the start of the 2-year period to the end of the existing lease for some tenanted homes in adjustment areas, if conditions are met such as applying by 9 May 2026. The conditions are long (let as at 12 February 2026, end-date windows, holding periods), so check the text and the district office.
Buying without a permit — Act Article 26(3)
Contracting without a permit, or obtaining one improperly, carries up to 2 years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 30% of the land value at the officially assessed price. A new ban on disclosing designation details before publication (Art. 10(8)), with a penalty of up to 1 year or 10 million won, is shown as taking effect on 9 December 2026.
Checklist
- ☐ Is the land (for a flat, its share) in a permit zone, and what ratio does the notice set?
- ☐ Does the designation target particular buyers or uses?
- ☐ No effect before the permit
- ☐ Own home: live there 2 years from acquisition
- ☐ Letting out is 7% a year; leaving unused 10%
Questions that remain
Can I buy a home with a tenant in it?
With an own-home permit you must use it so for 2 years from acquisition, and letting it out instead is a 7% penalty case — unless the Decree Article 14-2 temporary rule applies.
Are flats judged by area too?
The Act covers deals in rights to land and puts the area rule in the Decree. Buying a flat includes its land right, so we read the share area as what counts. Confirm with the district office.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions Arts. 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 26; Enforcement Decree Arts. 9, 14, 14-2, 16 — source (Act current text (effective 17 May 2024, Act No. 20194, with amendments marked for 9 December 2026 and later); Decree effective 1 October 2026, No. 36740; checked 19 October 2026). Area thresholds and notice ratio, procedure, deemed permit and effect, permit test, duty periods, penalty rates and charging, temporary rule para. 1, sanctions for no permit.
- Korean law database — Enforcement Decree.
- Not read. Decree Art. 14-2(2) in full, the designation notices themselves, the ministry ordinance forms.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- The local district office — whether the land is in a zone, and the notice.
Written on 19 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
