As Real Estate Prices Rise, 'Gaebal-eopja' Surge... Doubled in 5 Years

Registered Development Businesses 29,914 → 63,066
Real Estate Prices Soar Since Moon Administration, Boom Continues
Will Hwacheon Daeyu Repeat... Need to Examine Unfair Gains

Over the past five years, the number of real estate developers nationwide has more than doubled. This is interpreted as a result of the real estate boom following the sharp rise in property prices since the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration. Given the recent 'Hwacheon Daeyu incident,' where excessive profits were made through real estate development, there are calls for thorough government-level management.

According to Statistics Korea data analyzed by Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of registered real estate development businesses nationwide increased from 29,914 at the end of 2015 to 63,066 at the end of last year. This represents a 2.11-fold increase in five years.

Among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide, Sejong saw the largest increase in real estate developers over five years. The number of real estate developers in Sejong rose significantly each year from 326 in 2015 to 419 in 2016, 463 in 2017, 510 in 2018, 657 in 2019, and 840 last year. This is a 2.58-fold increase in five years.

Sejong last year recorded the highest nationwide apartment price increase rate of 44.93% amid discussions about relocating the administrative capital. As a newly established city with many development issues, the rapid rise in real estate prices in a short period is analyzed to have led to a significant increase in developers.

Following Sejong, Jeonnam showed a clear increase in developers. Jeonnam's number of developers rose from 539 in 2015 to 1,322 last year, a 2.45-fold increase. Next was Gyeonggi Province, which increased from 8,638 in 2015 to 20,950 last year, a 2.43-fold rise. Gyeonggi, where housing prices have surged recently due to development benefits such as the metropolitan area express railroad (GTX), has the highest number of registered real estate developers nationwide.

On the other hand, the number of real estate developers in Gyeongnam increased from 1,797 in 2015 to 2,957 last year, only a 1.65-fold increase. In Seoul, the number rose from 6,255 in 2015 to 10,954 last year, a 1.75-fold increase.

Representative Yang Kyung-sook said, "As the real estate market scale has grown, real estate development businesses have more than doubled in five years. Amid this, the Hwacheon Daeyu incident, which caused public resentment due to unfair and excessive profits, also occurred. Going forward, tax authorities must thoroughly investigate illegal activities such as unfair gains and tax evasion related to real estate development."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.