00:02It's Wednesday, September 30th.
00:05Let's get into one of Korea's top economic stories today.
00:08Lease renewals now make up 41.1% of Seoul's rental transactions.
00:14That share has jumped 9.7 percentage points since last year.
00:18New rental contracts have shrunk by the same margin as tenants get priced out of fresh leases.
00:25The land ministry analyzed real transaction data through August this year.
00:30Tenants are increasingly choosing to renew at higher deposits rather than search for new housing.
00:36The shift reflects tightening supply across Seoul's rental market.
00:40Here's what the numbers show.
00:4241.1% – that's the share of Seoul, Junse, and monthly rent transactions that were renewals through August,
00:50up 9.7 percentage points from a year earlier.
00:54That renewal share has climbed steadily from 27.15% in 2023 to 31.28% in 2024.
01:05Tenants who move out are finding it harder to secure similar terms elsewhere,
01:09often paying 20% to 30% more in deposit.
01:13Separately, regulators are reviving oversight dormant for seven years,
01:17barring unlicensed foreign investment banks from using Korean banks and private firms as funding channels.
01:24So, what does this mean for global readers following Korea's economy?
01:29Earlier, we said renewal transactions now make up 41.1% of Seoul's rental market.
01:35Here's what that actually means for you.
01:38Tenants are effectively locked into rising costs once they sign,
01:42since finding comparable new housing means paying a steep premium.
01:46The foreign IB crackdown shows regulators simultaneously tightening rules on cross-border capital flows into Korea.
01:55Sole rental data for the rest of the year, as the renewal trend continues.
02:00Deposit increases required for tenants who do move to new leases.
02:04Details of the joint agency plan on foreign IB oversight due next month.
02:11That's today's AI PRISM front page daily.
02:14This episode was produced with AI assistance based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting and reviewed by a human editor.
02:22AI PRISM is a Juan Ifra award-winning series.
02:25We'll be back tomorrow.
