Non-Resident Homeowner Tax Break at Center of Korea's Property Tax Overhaul

* Editor's note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an "AI-based personalized news recommendation and summarization service" developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.

[[LINK_0]]1. 'Non-Resident Single-Home' Comprehensive Tax Deduction Limit Likely to Be Settled in National Assembly[[/LINK_0]]

Key Summary: As the government pushes a tax reform bill raising the comprehensive real estate tax threshold to a published price of 1.4 billion won, controversy is growing because the basic deduction for non-resident single-home owners is set at 900 million won, lower than the 1.4 billion won for actual residents. As the ruling Democratic Party officially calls for a review of the heavier taxation on non-residents, a raise to 1.2 billion won is being cited as a leading alternative. The bigger market variable is the 1 billion won cap on the long-term holding special deduction for capital gains tax, which the real estate industry points to as the most impactful measure that could shake up Gangnam housing prices. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said the government is reviewing a plan to recognize non-residence as residence in cases with reasonable justification.

[[LINK_1]]2. Zones 1-4 Nearing Contractor Selection… High-Rise Affluent District With 'Live-Work-Play' Emerges[[/LINK_1]]

Key Summary: Redevelopment of Seongsu Strategic Redevelopment Zones 1 through 4 has all entered project implementation approval, with final-stage competition for contractor selection underway. With GS E&C (Zone 1) and Lotte E&C (Zone 4) having secured construction rights, attention is focused on whether Zone 3, with construction costs of 1.8275 trillion won, will proceed to a private contract with Samsung C&T, and whether Zone 2, with construction costs of 2.0137 trillion won, will result in competitive bidding between DL E&C and HDC Hyundai Development Company. Following the Seoul Metropolitan Government's abolition of the 35-story height limit, landmark high-rise complexes of 64 to 72 stories along the Han River are planned, and upward pressure on nearby prices has formed, with the asking price for the existing 260㎡ penthouse in Acro Seoul Forest reaching 30 billion won.

[[LINK_2]]3. Despite Cooperative Backlash, Gwangmyeong Insists 'Public Contribution Needed'… First-Generation New Towns Also on Edge[[/LINK_2]]

Key Summary: As Gwangmyeong City demanded additional public rental housing be incorporated into the Cheolsan and Haan redevelopment projects, cooperatives and redevelopment project committees have launched collective protests. Although they had prepared redevelopment plans securing a 330% floor area ratio through other incentive items such as green building and ZEB, concerns over worsening feasibility and delays have grown as the local government's stance shifted mid-project. First-generation new town redevelopments such as Bundang, Ilsan, and Pyeongchon share similar public contribution structures and are watching the direction of this conflict closely, with experts diagnosing that efforts to find a compromise are needed.

[[LINK_3]]4. Redevelopment Standards Differ Across a Single Road… Seoul City 'Fears Favoritism Disputes'[[/LINK_3]]

Key Summary: As the government and ruling party push a plan to transfer authority for designating redevelopment and reconstruction zones of 500 units or fewer from metropolitan mayors to district heads, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has pushed back head-on. Of the 472 redevelopment projects underway in Seoul, 193 (41%) involve fewer than 500 units, so if floor-area-ratio and public contribution standards differ by district, disputes over fairness between adjacent zones and the possibility of haphazard development arise. The Seoul city government countered that even combining the redevelopment zone designation review (an average of 84 days) and integrated review (32 days) amounts to only 2.7% of the entire project period (12 years), arguing that the transfer of authority could instead create new administrative bottlenecks.

[[LINK_4]]5. 'A-One Tower Dangsan' Sold for 163 Billion Won… First Transaction Between Listed REITs Completed[[/LINK_4]]

Key Summary: Samsung FN REIT acquired A-One Tower Dangsan in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, held by NH All One REIT, for 163 billion won, marking the first direct physical real estate transaction between domestic listed REITs. The deal was made with NH All One REIT aiming to restructure its portfolio and Samsung FN REIT aiming to add a new asset with a stable tenant base occupied by Samsung financial affiliates. Amid a series of large office physical transactions, including Centerpoint Gwanghwamun (432 billion won) last October and Humax Village (280 billion won) this March, this transaction is assessed as diversifying the liquidity cycle and asset restructuring paths of the listed REIT market.

[[LINK_5]]6. Despite 3,064-Unit The H Bangbae Launch, Nationwide Apartment Move-Ins Drop 30.7% Next Month[[/LINK_5]]

Key Summary: The volume of apartment units scheduled for move-in nationwide in September is 10,184, down 30.7% from the previous month and 18.2% from a year earlier, indicating the supply drought will continue. The Seoul metropolitan area accounts for 6,936 units (down 23.5% from the previous month) and provinces for 3,248 units (down 42.4%), with the decline in provinces standing out. Annual provincial move-in volume plunges 31.3% to 88,161 units from 128,301 the previous year. In Seoul, The H Bangbae (3,064 units) in Seocho-gu is analyzed as likely to partly ease the short-term rental supply shortage in the Gangnam area, as it is exempt from the actual-residence requirement.