Sell after holding for more than two years and a bunyanggwon (presale right to a new apartment) is taxed at a flat 60%, while a johabwon ipjugwon (a redevelopment association member's right) falls to Korea's basic 6-45% brackets. Apply both to a 200 million won gain and the bills land at 130.35 million and 60.62 million won. Two similar-sounding rights to the same new apartment, treated as entirely different objects by tax law.
The split comes from where each right originates. As KB explains, a bunyanggwon is the right to be supplied a new apartment after winning a subscription, arising on the supply contract date; an ipjugwon is what a reconstruction or redevelopment association member receives, arising on the date the management disposal plan is approved. An ipjugwon sits on top of property the holder already owned; a bunyanggwon does not. That single fact reshapes acquisition tax, capital gains tax and house counting alike.
Where the two diverge, line by line
| Item | Bunyanggwon (presale right) | Ipjugwon (member's right) |
|---|---|---|
| Right arises on | Supply contract date | Management disposal plan approval date |
| Underlying asset | None (contractual right) | Existing home and land share |
| Additional contribution | Generally none | Possible as construction costs move |
| Acquisition tax | None on the right; charged as housing at completion | 1-3% before demolition, 4.6% after, 2.8% on preservation registration |
| Counted as a house (CGT) | Acquired from 1 Jan 2021 | Approved from 1 Jan 2006 |
| Counted as a house (acquisition tax) | Acquired from 12 Aug 2020 | Acquired from 12 Aug 2020 |
| Comprehensive real estate tax | Counted after completion | Counted after completion |
| Transfer restrictions | Resale ban: up to 3 years in the capital region, 1 year elsewhere | Member status transfer restricted in speculative zones |
The line that trips people up most often is acquisition tax. Buying a bunyanggwon triggers none. It arrives when the building completes and is registered as housing, at a rate set by how many homes you hold on that date. An ipjugwon is the reverse: tax applies at purchase, and its character depends on whether the old building still stands — before demolition it is a housing acquisition at 1-3%, after demolition a land acquisition at 4.6%, and the preservation registration on the finished building is 2.8%.
What the two-year line is worth in cash
Up to two years the rates match: 70% under one year, 60% from one to two. The paths part after that. The bunyanggwon stays at a flat 60%; the ipjugwon drops into the basic brackets of 6-45%.
| Holding period | Bunyanggwon rate (%) | Ipjugwon rate (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 70 | 70 |
| 1 to 2 years | 60 | 60 |
| Over 2 years | 60 | 6-45 (basic rates) |
Converted into money: the table below assumes a sale after more than two years, excludes acquisition costs and the long-term holding deduction, and applies only the 2.5 million won basic capital gains deduction. Local income tax adds 10% of the calculated tax. The ipjugwon column uses the standard income tax schedule (38% with a 19.94 million won progressive deduction for taxable income between 150 and 300 million won).
| Gain (KRW) | Taxable base (KRW) | Bunyanggwon total tax (KRW) | Ipjugwon total tax (KRW) | Gap (KRW) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100,000,000 | 97,500,000 | 64,350,000 | 20,553,500 | 43,796,500 |
| 200,000,000 | 197,500,000 | 130,350,000 | 60,621,000 | 69,729,000 |
| 300,000,000 | 297,500,000 | 196,350,000 | 102,421,000 | 93,929,000 |
Working the 200 million won row: the taxable base is 200 million minus the 2.5 million deduction, or 197.5 million won. The bunyanggwon takes 60% of that — 118.5 million — plus 11.85 million in local income tax, for 130.35 million won. The ipjugwon takes 38% of 197.5 million, or 75.05 million, less the 19.94 million progressive deduction, giving 55.11 million, plus 5.51 million local tax, for 60.62 million won. The gap is 69.73 million won, roughly 35% of the gain itself.
Both are rights to the same new apartment; what tax law looks at is what each right grew out of.
Own a home already and another calculation attaches
Acquire a bunyanggwon while holding one house and tax law counts you as a two-home household. The Korea Economic Daily notes that this restricts the one-house exemption and cuts the long-term holding deduction from a maximum of 80% to a maximum of 30%. The tax on selling your existing home changes because of the presale right alone.
The same article lays out two routes to temporary two-home relief. First: acquire the presale right more than a year after acquiring the existing home, then sell the existing home within three years. Second: move into the completed new home within three years, live there at least a year, and sell the existing home within three years. Both routes carry the same easily missed precondition — a full year must have passed since acquiring the existing home.
Which date counts as acquisition also moves the outcome. Per the same report, a subscription win counts from the winning date, a direct contract from the contract date, and a purchased presale right from the final payment settlement date. Near the 1 January 2021 boundary for house counting, that single determination changes how many homes you own.
Acquisition tax works similarly. The article notes that acquiring a new home while holding one in a regulated zone triggers an 8% heavy rate, and that disposing of either the old or new home within three years of acquisition removes the surcharge. The order in which house count and price set the rate is laid out in the acquisition tax calculation guide.
The money leaves at different times, and so do the loans
The two rights have different cash rhythms. A bunyanggwon follows a fixed schedule of down payment, interim payments and balance, with interim-payment loans transferable and the balance loan subject to DSR and LTV rules. An ipjugwon draws a relocation loan after the management disposal approval, converting to a balance loan at completion. How loan limits get set in sequence is covered in the LTV, DTI and DSR walkthrough.
One variable belongs to the ipjugwon alone: the additional contribution. If construction costs shift before the project closes, the member's share can change. A bunyanggwon fixes the total in the supply contract; an ipjugwon does not, as KB notes. Reading only the tax rates and concluding the ipjugwon wins leaves this item out of the sum.
There are also windows where trading is simply blocked. Presale rights face resale bans of up to three years in the capital region and one year elsewhere, while ipjugwon holders face restrictions on transferring member status inside speculative zones. Region and type specifics sit in the resale restriction table.
What to check
- Which date becomes your acquisition date. Winning date, contract date or settlement date decides whether you cross the house-counting boundaries (1 Jan 2021 for CGT, 12 Aug 2020 for acquisition tax).
- Whether two years have passed. An ipjugwon drops from 60% to the basic brackets the moment it clears two years. Locate your intended sale date relative to that line.
- Demolition status when buying an ipjugwon. 1-3% before, 4.6% after. Verify the current stage through the registry and the project timeline before contracting.
- The deadline for disposing of the existing home. Temporary two-home relief needs both the three-year deadline and the one-year precondition on the existing home.
- Estimated additional contribution. Check the figure in the management disposal plan against recent construction cost movement. It can exceed the tax difference.
- Whether the rate schedule has changed. Rates and surcharges on both rights move often through decree and statutory amendment. Reconfirm against National Tax Service material at contract time.