[비즈한국] A recent phenomenon in Seoul's three major districts (Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa) is capturing the attention of the real estate industry. According to the Korea Real Estate Board's apartment transaction data, there were a total of 898 gift transactions in Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa districts from January to May 2025, which is more than double the 428 cases recorded during the same period last year. Even more surprising is that this represents a 3.2-fold increase compared to the 279 cases recorded in the same period in 2023.
Behind these changes lies a growing trend of gifting "premium" properties to family members rather than selling them. Among real estate owners in the Gangnam area, the "learning effect"—the belief that one should never sell as prices keep rising—is spreading. Furthermore, there is speculation that if high-intensity loan regulations reduce the number of potential buyers in the future, landlords in Gangnam will strengthen long-term holding strategies rather than sell their apartments at a low price.
Looking at the regions, the surge in gifting is most prominent in Seocho-gu. It skyrocketed by a staggering 284%, from 157 cases between January and May 2024 to 603 cases during the same period in 2025. This indicates that owners of high-priced real estate in Seocho-gu, which has many new apartments along the Han River, are actively utilizing tax-saving strategies through gifting. In contrast, Gangnam-gu saw a more modest 22% increase from 127 to 155 cases, while Songpa-gu actually saw a slight decrease from 144 to 140 cases.
The Butterfly Effect of Stricter Loan Regulations
Even after the June 27 loan regulations, the upward trend in gifting has not stopped. From July 1 to July 25, 2025, there were 119 gift transactions in the three districts, surpassing the monthly average of 111.7 cases in the first half of this year and representing a 36.8% increase compared to the same period last year. This implies that as standard real estate sales become difficult due to tightened loan regulations, wealthy individuals are choosing "parental help" (gift) as a viable alternative.
In particular, as stricter DSR (Debt Service Ratio) regulations make it harder for the younger generation to purchase homes, buying an apartment in the Gangnam area has become virtually impossible without direct support from parents. As a result, this is leading to a "balloon effect" of alternative demands such as business-registered loans, jeonse succession transactions, P2P loans, and intra-family gifts.
Rising Trend of Spousal Gifting for Comprehensive Real Estate Tax Savings
As Gangnam property prices have risen significantly, spousal gifting to save on taxes is also increasing. Under the comprehensive real estate tax system, a married couple can each receive a 900 million won deduction, allowing for tax-free benefits on a total of up to 1.8 billion won when they co-own a property. Yoon Soo-min, a real estate specialist at NongHyup Bank, analyzed, "Because Gangnam apartment values have become so high, couples are switching to joint ownership for the purpose of asset allocation. They are feeling the pressure as holding taxes increase alongside rising officially assessed prices."
In fact, in the case of Eunma Apartments in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, the officially assessed price fell from 2.042 billion won in 2024 to 1.556 billion won in 2025, significantly reducing the tax burden for joint-owning couples. Owners of this apartment who paid 2.26 million won in comprehensive real estate tax in 2024 ended up in a position where they did not have to pay any such tax in 2025.
Basic Principles and Key Strategies for Saving on Gift Tax
The most important factor in real estate gifting is minimizing the gift tax burden. Under the current Inheritance and Gift Tax Act, gift tax deductions are applied based on the recipient, aggregated over 10 years. For a spouse, up to 600 million won can be gifted tax-free over 10 years; for adult children, up to 50 million won; and for minors, up to 20 million won.
The first principle of saving on gift tax is splitting. Gift tax has a progressive rate structure from 10% to 50%, so the more people receive gifts, the more each can benefit from lower tax rates. For example, if you gift 250 million won only to your son, the 200 million won remaining after the deduction is taxed at a 20% bracket; however, if you gift 150 million won to your son and 100 million won to your daughter-in-law, both can benefit from the 10% tax bracket.
The second principle is a 10-year cycle gifting plan. Since gift tax deductions reset every 10 years, it is important to establish a long-term plan. Especially for high-priced assets like real estate, one can consider a strategy of gifting in 10-year increments or gradually gifting shares of the property.
Gifting with Debt (Burdensome Gifting)—A Key High-Level Strategy
One of the most notable tax-saving methods for real estate is "gifting with debt" (burdensome gifting). This involves gifting the real estate while simultaneously transferring debts such as jeonse deposits or mortgage loans. The core of this method is that the debt portion is treated as a transfer (sale) rather than a gift, which can reduce the total gift tax burden.
To look at the specific tax-saving effect, assume an apartment worth 600 million won with a 200 million won jeonse deposit. In a standard gift, the child would pay about 100 million won in gift tax. However, by using burdensome gifting, the parents pay about 15 million won in capital gains tax, and the child only pays about 60 million won in gift tax. The total tax is reduced to about 75 million won, resulting in a tax saving of approximately 25 million won.
However, the most important condition is that the child receiving the gift must personally pay off the inherited debt. If the parents pay off the debt on behalf of the child later, that amount is considered a gift and will be subject to additional gift tax and surcharges. Also, if parents meet the requirements for tax exemption as a 1-household-1-home owner, no capital gains tax is incurred on the debt, making the tax-saving effect of burdensome gifting even greater.
Managing Tax Risks When Using "Parental Help"
The National Tax Service is continuously strengthening crackdowns on irregular gifting. In 2022 alone, tax audits were conducted on 227 people suspected of irregular gifting. Major examples of detected fraud include hiring children at hospitals for fake jobs and paying false salaries, parents repaying a child's real estate mortgage, or cases where a loan agreement was written but no actual interest or principal was repaid.
To treat inter-family financial transactions as loans, requirements such as drafting a formal loan agreement, applying the current legal interest rate of 4.6% per annum, and actual repayment of principal and interest via bank transfers must be met. Care is needed because if a zero-interest loan is provided, gift tax may be imposed on interest benefits exceeding 10 million won per year.
Additionally, gift tax must be reported within three months from the date of the gift, and a 3% tax credit for timely filing can be applied. Failure to report may lead to additional surcharges, so thorough preparation is essential.
Strategic Response in a Changing Real Estate Market
The surge in real estate gifting centered on the three major Gangnam districts is an important indicator showing the strategic response of the wealthy in a changing real estate market, going beyond simple tax savings. Complex factors such as tightened loan regulations, increased policy uncertainty, and tax changes are driving the expansion of "parental help."
Even if the government does not immediately reform real estate taxes, the gift trend is likely to continue as there is a high possibility that holding taxes for high-priced apartments will increase in the long term. In this environment, the keys to successful real estate gifting include optimizing basic deduction limits, establishing long-term 10-year plans, utilizing high-level strategies such as burdensome gifting or low-price transfers, and managing tax risks thoroughly.
Above all, since the optimal strategy for real estate gifting varies depending on individual circumstances, one must approach it from a comprehensive and long-term perspective through sufficient consultation with real estate tax experts. Through proper strategies and thorough preparation, legal and effective tax savings can be realized. In the changing real estate market, "parental help" is becoming a necessity rather than a choice, and utilizing it wisely will be the key to protecting and growing family wealth.
Kim Hak-ryul, famous by his pen name "Pashong," is the director of the Smart Tube Real Estate Research Institute and a former team leader at the Korea Gallup Real Estate Research Division. He operates the Naver blog "Pashong's World Exploration" and the YouTube channel "Stue TV." He is the author of books such as "The Power of Gyeonggi-do Real Estate (2024)," "The Absolute Principles of Seoul Real Estate (2023)," "The Future of Incheon Real Estate (2022)," "Kim Hak-ryul's Absolute Principles of Real Estate Investment (2022)," "Future Map of South Korean Real Estate (2021)," "Only Places That Will Rise, Rise From Now On (2020)," and "South Korea Real Estate User Guide (2020)."