Housing Supply Floods Southern Gyeonggi as Prices Surge: 23,485 Units

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

1. Summer Off-Season Is a Thing of the Past: 23,485 Units to Pour Into Metropolitan Area in July-August

- Key Summary: The planned volume of general presales in the metropolitan area for July-August this year was tallied at 23,485 units, a sharp 97.5% increase from the same period last year. According to market analysis firm Real Estate Info, Gyeonggi Province accounts for 19,159 units, or 81.6% of the total, with steep apartment price increases in southern Gyeonggi areas such as Hwaseong Dongtan (13%), Anyang Dongan (10.26%), Yongin Suji (9.77%), and Gwangmyeong (9.5%). Complexes to be supplied this month—including 'Uiwang Station SK View' (820 units in general presale), Osan's 'Osan Heritage Xi' (1,783 units), and Godeok International New Town's 'Hillstate Godeok Elyst' (2,122 units)—are cited as beneficiaries of the semiconductor emerging residential belt. In Seoul, about 1,000 units across four complexes are set to be supplied, including GS Engineering & Construction's premium officetel 'Mokdong Yunseul Xi' (651 units) in Mokdong.

2. CEO Cho Kap-joo: "AI Creates New Space Demand... Will Grow Both Corporate Growth and LP Returns"

- Key Summary: Cho Kap-joo, who returned as CEO of IGIS Asset Management after five years, presented the spatial changes of the AI era as the reason behind his return to investment. "When major changes occur in industry, major changes also occur in space," he said, diagnosing that through AI integration, logistics warehouses are being transformed into a 'second factory' encompassing assembly and delivery, while commercial offices are evolving into a means of attracting talent and boosting productivity. As a representative investment achievement, he cited the Hanam data center, which an asset management firm led from development through operational stabilization and sale. He announced a plan to match institutional investors (LPs) with bio-company factories and research centers going forward, pursuing corporate growth and LP returns simultaneously. Regarding discussions on the sale of IGIS Asset Management's management rights, he stressed the continuity of its management philosophy, saying, "The shareholders are changing, but the company is not."

3. Liquidity Concentrated Only in Stocks... Balance of Rates, FX, and Funds Broken

- Key Summary: As foreign profit-taking sell-offs following the semiconductor-centered stock market surge poured out, the balance of interest rates, exchange rates, and funds is collapsing simultaneously. Foreign net selling on the securities market in the first half of this year reached 149.0464 trillion won, six to seven times the level of the first half of 2008 (22.929 trillion won) during the global financial crisis and the first half of 2020 (21.457 trillion won) at the peak of COVID-19. In addition, deposits at secondary financial institutions such as Nonghyup, MG Community Credit Cooperatives, and Shinhyup have decreased by more than 15.2 trillion won this year, while the won-dollar exchange rate exceeds 1,500 won, increasing the possibility of rising import prices and additional policy rate hikes. Lee Seung-heon, professor of economics at Soongsil University, pointed out, "As the market shakes excessively, it is being exposed to volatility."

4. National Tax Service Detects 73.1 Billion Won in Real Estate Evasion... Collects 31.8 Billion From Some 80 People

- Key Summary: The National Tax Service announced Monday that it conducted tax investigations on 104 people suspected of real estate tax evasion, including on ultra-high-priced homes, from October 1 last year, confirming a total of 73.1 billion won in evasion and collecting 31.8 billion won. By type, gift tax evasion—in which individuals acquired expensive apartments with funds gifted from parents without paying gift tax—accounted for 60%, while so-called sham transactions—in which multi-home owners falsely transferred low-priced homes under the names of relatives or acquaintances and then improperly applied the one-home-per-household tax exemption—accounted for 40%. In addition, strict measures were taken, including expanding the scope of investigation to corporate businesses involved in tax evasion to collect corporate tax and income tax together, and filing charges against six people with the prosecution. The National Tax Service said it plans to continue intensive inspections of illicit gifting, as gift transactions are likely to increase again following the resumption of heavier taxation on multi-home owners.

5. Seoul City Expands Housing Cost Support for Childbirth Households... Eases Jeonse Standard to 500 Million Won

- Key Summary: The Seoul Metropolitan Government began accepting second-half applications for its 'Housing Cost Support Project for Childbirth Homeless Households' on the 1st of this month, updating the support criteria to reflect reality. It eased the jeonse (a Korean lease system requiring a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent) deposit standard from 300 million won or less to 500 million won or less, and the monthly rent standard from 1.3 million won to 2.29 million won or less, significantly increasing the number of eligible recipients. As a result, 1,754 households applied in the first half, an 88% increase over total applications last year. The support provides jeonse loan interest or monthly rent of up to 300,000 won per month for two years, totaling up to 7.2 million won. According to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport actual transaction data, the average jeonse deposit for Seoul apartments from January to May this year was 658.75 million won, up 19.1% from two years earlier, prompting the measure. Ma Chae-suk, head of Seoul City's Women and Family Affairs Office, said, "At a time when the burden of jeonse and monthly rent is growing, post-childbirth housing costs are a real difficulty that many families feel."

6. Lotte E&C Issues Additional 300 Billion Won in AAA-Rated ABS

- Key Summary: Lotte E&C strengthened its funding base by successfully issuing 300 billion won in asset-backed securities (ABS) based on construction payment receivables. This ABS consisted of 150 billion won each in one-year and one-year-three-month maturities, and was issued at the top credit rating of AAA, with KB Securities, Hana Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Samsung Securities, and Korea Investment & Securities participating as underwriters. Following the first issuance in May, this second issuance is characterized by enhanced structural stability, incorporating construction payment receivables from housing project sites nearing completion and construction sites of Lotte Group affiliates as underlying assets, along with credit support from financial institutions. Lotte E&C expects to reduce funding costs through the AAA-rated issuance, higher than its own credit rating (A0), and to convert about 770 billion won in construction costs into cash early by the first quarter of next year.