1,493 Apprehended in Real Estate Crackdown... President Lee: "Malicious Crimes Ruining the Nation"

Lee: "No Future Without Normalizing Real Estate"

Shares Results of Real Estate Crime Crackdown

1,493 Investigated Over Five Months, 64 Referred for Prosecution

President Lee Jae-myung emphasized on the 24th, "We will eradicate the vicious real estate crimes that are ruining the country," adding, "Without normalizing the nation's 'Real Estate Republic,' there is no future for Korea."

On the afternoon of the same day, President Lee posted this statement on his X (formerly Twitter) account. Along with his remarks, he shared a document titled "Results of the 1st Special Crackdown on Real Estate Crimes and Plans for the 2nd Special Crackdown."

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Cabinet Meeting held at the Blue House on March 24, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the document, from October 17 of last year to March 15 of this year—a period of about five months—the government conducted a special crackdown on real estate crimes, during which a total of 1,493 individuals were apprehended and 64 were referred for prosecution. Among them, 7 were arrested and detained.

By type of offense, 448 individuals were involved in disrupting the order of real estate supply, 293 in farmland speculation, and 254 in illegal brokerage activities such as manipulating home prices. By status, licensed real estate agents, who handle real estate transactions, accounted for 132 cases—the largest share—while public officials and others made up a significant number with 43 cases.

The government plans to conduct the second special crackdown for approximately seven months, from March 16 to October 31. Investigative efforts will focus on areas such as price collusion and farmland speculation, which have become major social issues recently.

Major cases uncovered during the crackdown were also introduced. The investigation found that some licensed real estate agents formed organizations to prohibit non-member agents from participating in joint real estate brokering, or reported false transaction prices that were 180 million won higher than the actual prices.

Other offenses detected included fake resident registrations, bribery, price inflation, exaggeration of development prospects, illegal use and illegal leasing of properties, among others.

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