South Korean President Lee Jae-myung speaks at a senior secretaries' meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on May 21, 2026. Photo: Chosun Daily

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said Thursday that a report claiming “Chinese nationals made a surprise purchase of 944 apartments in Gangnam District, Seoul” was “clearly false”, and called for strict accountability, according to South Korean media reports.

In a post on his X account, Lee wrote that Seoul Economic TV aired a fake video report titled "Chinese Nationals Suddenly Buy 944 Apartments in Gangnam, Seoul. Snapping Up Multi-Homeowners' Listings," which has now been deleted.

“Upon verification, it turns out to be an outright false report, with only 5 purchases by Chinese nationals of collective buildings in Gangnam between January and April. It's suspected to be a deliberately fabricated fake news article intended to be used as material for anti-China agitation. Even a media outlet, and an economic one at that – how on earth does stirring up Sinophobia help the country and its people? They should be held strictly accountable, don't you think?” 

Earlier, a media outlet reported that Chinese nationals had concentrated on purchasing properties sold by multiple homeowners in Gangnam, Songpa, and Yongsan just before the reinstatement of the heavy transfer tax on multiple homeowners, according to a report from the Chosun Daily.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport later refuted the report, stating it was untrue. According to the ministry, among 592 foreign buyers who applied for ownership transfer registration for collective buildings in Seoul from January to April this year, 218 were Chinese nationals, and only five Chinese nationals purchased collective buildings in Gangnam District, per Chosun Daily.

South Korean media The Financial News also reported on Thursday that the previous day, during a State Council of South Korea meeting that also served as an Emergency Economic Review Meeting, Lee had already ordered relevant ministries to respond firmly to similar reports on real estate policy, calling them "clear manipulation and distortion." 

At the time, he criticized an article claiming that Chinese nationals had bought up units dumped by multi-home owners, asking, "Why write such a false article?" and saying it was done intentionally to fuel anti-Chinese sentiment, according to the report.