土地投機抑制政策의 實態分析과 改善方案에 관한 硏究 : 土地利用과 去來規制를 中心으로

토지 투기 억제를 위한 토지이용·거래 규제의 실태와 개선을 연구한다.

In Korea, the land speculation control policies have changed whenever the socio-economic conditions and the governments have changed. In 60's and 70's, the land speculation control policies changed in favor of development projects for economic growth, and in 80's and 90's, the successive governments endeavored to check land speculations or rising land prices in order to address the problems caused by rapid urbanization and new town developments. Since mountains account for about 70% of our national land, while the areas which could be developed are limited, our land problems are very serious. However, land problems have existed in any age.

Among the numerous land problems, the problems involving the land speculation control policies have been spotlighted lately. The problems of the land speculation control policies have been characterized mostly by wrong legislations, inconsistent policy changes and operations. For example, in order to surmount the socio-economic chaos caused by the foreign exchange crisis, the government published numerous real estate market stimulation policies in the name of real economy stimulation only to deregulate the real estate markets and thereby, increase land speculations.

And now or a decade after, the sub-prime mortgage crisis of the United States due to non-performing real estate loans is pushing the world toward a global financial crisis, and our domestic financial industry is facing another serious financial panic since the IMF foreign exchange crisis. In order to improve such situation, the central government published a package of real estate and construction stimulation policies characterized by deregulation of the real estate markets on October 21, 2008 in an effort to stimulate nation's economy. In such circumstances, this study analyzed the causes for and types of land speculations focusing on regulations of land uses and transactions.

The conditions of land speculations can be summed up as follows. First, certain people tend to purchase the land plots in great quantities in certain regions, which may well be defined as speculative land transactions. For it is rare that the land plots are purchased in great quantities by huge capitals. Second, frequent land transactions by certain people represent the land speculations. For the ordinary people are seldom engaged frequently in land transactions.

Third, the organized speculative real estate brokers have lately been purchasing the land plots in great quantities designated as development candidates in the capital areas and near metropolitan cities and thereby, divide them into smaller units to be sold for petty land speculators. Fourth, it is in principle that the land transactions in the land transaction permit zones should be permitted by relevant authorities, but speculators abuse the legal provisions that the land transaction contracts due to gift, succession, auction or appropriation may not get permission and thereby, disguise the normal land transactions as gifts to evade the permission and even the tax.

Fifth, a contract is usually made when a land plot is transacted. Some real estate brokers make another dual contract specifying the price lower than the actual one. Sixth, unregistered land transactions prevail to evade acquisition tax, registration tax and capital gain tax. Such practices are called 'inter-transfer omission registrations.' Seventh, registration trust has been a problem for long time. Ordinary people do not entrust their ownership with third parties, but professional speculators use registration trust secretly and sophisticatedly. So far, causes for and types of land speculations have been discussed.

The reform measures to check such land speculations can be suggested as follows in terms of regulations of land uses and transactions; First, it is necessary to block the capitals supplied by the big speculators stimulating the land speculations, reinforce the crack-downs on the land speculations and trace such professional speculators as organized speculative real estate brokers to the end to recollect their real estate speculation profits and apply higher tax rates than their real profits to them. In short, the speculative funds should be thoroughly blocked, while a policy for recollection of their land speculation profits should be implemented.

Second, the concept of the public land is universal in many advanced nations. So, it is necessary to consider reintroducing the housing site ownership ceiling system and the farming land ownership ceiling system in order to check the land speculations fundamentally and prevent concentration of the land ownerships in a few hands. Third, every land transaction is based on the formal contract certified by relevant authority. Since this system has been only nominal although it was introduced to prevent land speculations, it should be reinforced or replaced with a certified public contract system.

Fourth, the authority to control the land uses needs to be mandated from the central government to the local autonomous administrations for autonomous and local-specific regulations under central government's technical and financial supports. Namely, it is desirable for the central government not to regulate the land uses across the country but to provide for some basic guidelines for management and uses of nation's land and mediate the conflicts between central and local administrations. Fifth, since land plots are targets of transaction like commodities in the market, it may be problematic to continue to control them directly.

So, it is desirable to overhaul various tax systems related to land, focusing on effective control of land speculations. The results of this study suggest that any land speculation control policy requires government's firm will and specific and substantial alternatives, and that any impromptu alternative cannot check land speculations. Land speculations have resulted in wider gap between rich and poor, impeding nation's econo