President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the meeting with senior aides on May 28. (Yonhap) President Lee Jae Myung on Monday warned against tax evasion in real estate transactions, reiterating his administration’s drive to keep the market in check.“Illegal real estate speculation and tax evasion can no longer be tolerated. We must break free from this ruinous republic of unearned real estate income,” he wrote on his X account, sharing a link to a news article about real estate tax evasion.The Lee administration has stressed the need to contain the country’s real estate market from the outset, and has introduced several measures to curb the market, such as limits on property-backed loans.In stressing the importance his administration places on the issue, Lee has often taken to social media to warn against real estate speculation.The latest article he shared focuses on the rise in public reports of tax evasion.According to the article, more than 80 percent of real estate tax evasion reports filed through the National Tax Service’s reporting center have involved the greater Seoul area.Citing National Tax Service data, a total of 780 tip-offs were filed with the agency’s real estate tax evasion reporting center from its launch in November through the end of March.Of them, 633 cases, or 81 percent, were handled by regional tax offices covering Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon. The Seoul office received the largest number of reports at 322, followed by the Jungbu office, which oversees parts of Gyeonggi Province, with 164, and the Incheon office with 147.The reporting center was established to detect tax avoidance schemes involving real estate transactions, including illegal gifts, borrowed-name ownership, underreported or inflated contracts and sham deals.The NTS has been relying more heavily on public tip-offs, as tax evasion methods become more sophisticated, with some strategies being shared through online communities and social media. Tipsters who provide crucial evidence leading to the collection of at least 50 million won ($33,000) in unpaid taxes are eligible for rewards, with the maximum payout capped at 4 billion won.