Foreign buyers in Korea: the 30-day and 60-day reporting rules
Property sale reporting and other foreign acquisitions follow different deadlines in Korea. Check prior-permission requirements before signing, then identify the correct reporting rule.
Classify the actual transaction. Area permits, title registration, taxes and remittance requirements need separate checks.
A foreign buyer in Korea should not assume that every property acquisition has a 60-day reporting period. Invest KOREA, part of KOTRA, explains that sale contracts and other contracts covered by article 3(1) of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, etc. must be reported within 30 days of signing. Other acquisition contracts covered by article 8(1) have a 60-day rule.[1][2][4]
Before calculating either deadline, check whether the particular property requires prior permission. Permission, transaction reporting and ownership registration are separate steps.
Start with the 30-day rule for a sale
The official FAQ places real-estate sales and specified property-supply contracts under the 30-day requirement. The clock runs from the contract date, and foreign parties are included.[1]
For a family buying an apartment, a useful pre-signing checklist identifies the applicable provision, responsible filer and receiving local authority. Do not wait until handover or final payment to investigate a deadline that starts at signing.
Before signing, establish whether the parties or the broker must file. After submission, obtain the reporting receipt to confirm completion.
The 60-day period is not a universal extension
Article 8(1) expressly excludes contracts covered by article 3(1). For the foreign acquisitions that remain within its scope, it specifies reporting within 60 days of the contract date. Classification determines the deadline; a buyer cannot simply choose the longer period.[2]
Some English summaries describe the 60-day starting point as acquisition. This article follows the cited Korean statutory wording, which specifies contract conclusion. Have the local authority or adviser classify a gift or another transaction outside an ordinary sale before relying on a deadline.[1][2]
For inheritance, auction and other non-contractual acquisitions, article 8(2) provides six months from acquisition. A Korean national or qualifying domestic entity that becomes foreign and intends to retain existing property also has a separate six-month reporting rule, starting from that change.[2]
Check permission before committing to a contract
Invest KOREA advises checking whether a property requires prior permission rather than reporting alone. Land-transaction controls can depend on the area, buyer and intended use. Check the particular address and designation in force for the transaction, rather than relying on a conclusion reached for another property or an earlier purchase.[1][3]
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Eum land-use information service is a starting point for the parcel search. Confirm the applicable permission process with the city, county or district authority before finalising the contract.[3]
Keep the later steps separate
Retain the contract, any permission and the reporting receipt. Compare the names, property identifiers, dates and price across them. Registration, taxes and any cross-border remittance requirements need their own checks; the transaction-report receipt is not a substitute for all of those records.
For families already holding Korean residence permission, the reporting analysis still turns on the transaction and applicable law. Valid residence documents, the ability to acquire a property and completion of its transaction procedures should each be checked separately.
Official sources
General policy information; individual circumstances and the competent authority’s requirements govern each application.