South Korea's Property Holding Tax Rate Falls to 0.15%, Half OECD Average; Transaction Taxes Hit 82.5%

According to Land+Freedom Research Institute, South Korea's property holding tax effective rate on July 6 stands at 0.15%, roughly half the OECD average of 0.33% and one-tenth the levels in New York (1.0%) and Tokyo (1.7%).

Unlike most OECD nations that employ a single local property tax system, South Korea operates a dual structure combining local property tax and national comprehensive real estate tax on high-value properties. As a proportion of GDP, South Korea's holding tax ratio is 0.87%, below the OECD average of 0.95%. However, transaction-stage tax burdens are among the world's highest: acquisition tax reaches 12% for multi-property owners in regulated zones, while capital gains tax hits a maximum of 82.5% including local income tax.