Invest KOREA

The 2nd Economic Revitalization Meeting, chaired by Minister of Strategy and Finance Park Jae-won, was held on August 7 to discuss ways to boost domestic demand and tourism. It decided to provide tax incentives to facilitate investment and property transactions.

First, the government decided to ease visa requirements for Chinese visitors to Korea. From this month, Chinese tourists who visit any OECD countries, including Korea, more than twice will be granted multiple entry visas valid for three years and those who visit the nations above more than once will also be given multiple entry visas valid for one year.

Second, foreign investors who are considering investing in resorts in Korea's free economic zones will be able to request the examination of the possibility of the business opportunity prior to investment, which is expected to eliminate uncertainties regarding the investment.

Third, in order to support middle-and-low-income households, there will be a property tax reduction of 25 percent for houses with reverse mortgage loans and those eligible for the tax reduction will be exempt from the mandatory purchase of housing bonds to settle their mortgage.

Lastly, to stimulate property transactions, tax incentives for REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), such as the 30 percent acquisition tax reduction and the property registration tax reduction, will be extended.

Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (Aug. 7, 2012)

** This is the translation of a Korean article.