Chinese nationals account for half of foreign-owned houses in S. Korea

[Photo by Yonhap]

Chinese, including ethnic Koreans, own more than 45,000 homes in South Korea, making them the largest foreign nationality to own a home in the country, government data showed on Wednesday.

As of the end of last year, there were a total of 83,512 foreign-owned housing units in Korea. Of these, 44,889 or 53.8 percent were owned by Chinese nationals. This is equivalent to the total number of homes in Jongno-gu, Seoul (46,859), according to statistics from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Among foreign-owned homes, the most common nationality after China was USA (19,923 homes), Canada (5,810 homes), Taiwan (3,271 homes), and Australia (1,740 homes).

The total land area owned by foreigners in South Korea was up by 1.8 percent or 4.6 million square meters on-year, amounting to 264 square kilometers. This represents a mere 0.26 percent of the country’s entire land area and its government-assessed value totals 32.88 trillion won ($24.9 billion) up by 2.6 percent from a year ago.

By nationality, Americans hold the lion’s share of domestic land ownership. A remarkable 53.4 percent or 141 square kilometers of all foreign-owned land in the country is under American ownership, a size comparable to that of Seoul’s four Gangnam districts, spanning about 145 square kilometers.

The enduring trend of American dominance in land ownership among foreigners has been consistently observed. “The extensive land holdings previously possessed by American immigrants are often inherited by their locally naturalized children,” said a ministry official.

Following Americans, Chinese nationals claim 7.8 percent or 20.7 square kilometers) of the land in Korea, while Europeans hold 7.2 percent (18.7 square kilometers) and Japanese 6.3 percent (16.7 square kilometers). The rate of land acquisition by foreigners experienced a significant surge between 2014 and 2015, but since 2016, the rate of increase has been more moderate, indicating a stabilized growth pattern.

As for the purpose of foreign-owned land, a considerable 67.4 percent is designated as miscellaneous land, including forest and agricultural land, followed by factory land (22.4 percent), leisure land (4.5 percent), and residential land (4.2 percent).