KUALA LUMPUR - South Korea will begin enforcing stricter real estate transaction rules for foreign buyers this week, as part of efforts to curb speculative property purchases involving suspicious overseas funds, the land ministry said on Monday.

Under revised enforcement regulations of the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act, foreign nationals signing property purchase contracts from Tuesday will be required to disclose their visa status and whether they qualify as legal residents when submitting transaction reports to local authorities.

They will also be required to provide information on overseas bank deposits, foreign loans and offshore financial institutions. Previously, only local deposits and domestic financial institutions needed to be declared.

In addition, proceeds from stock and bond sales, as well as cryptocurrency transactions, must now be reported when used as part of the funds for purchasing property in South Korea, as reported by The Korea Times.

The ministry said the new measures follow a government investigation last year that uncovered 416 suspected cases of illegal real estate transactions involving foreign buyers. These cases have since been referred to customs, immigration and police authorities.

To strengthen enforcement, the ministry plans to conduct joint inspections with local governments from March, while additional probes into abnormal transactions and illegal inflows of overseas funds are scheduled to begin in August.

Officials said the tightened rules are intended to enhance transparency in the property market and safeguard financial stability by preventing unlawful practices linked to foreign investments.