Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has instructed city officials to review possible restrictions on the purchase of high-priced homes by nonresident foreign nationals. 

During a senior staff meeting on Monday, Oh ordered an examination of regulations in countries such as the United States, Australia, Singapore and Canada, and whether similar measures could be applied in Seoul.

The mayor’s call comes amid concerns that such purchases could distort the housing market and result in reverse discrimination against South Koreans, as current mortgage limits of 600 million won, or approximately 430-thousand U.S. dollars, do not apply to foreign buyers.

In July, the city began a study with the Seoul Institute on foreign real estate ownership, which found that of 73 reviewed cases within land transaction permit zones, three had violated permit conditions, resulting in enforcement orders.

The National Tax Service has also launched a special tax audit targeting 49 foreign nationals suspected of illicitly acquiring high-priced apartments, most of them U.S. or Chinese nationals, about 40 percent of whom are of Korean descent.

The city plans to consider measures such as purchase restrictions, preapproval systems and reciprocity-based rules in consultation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.