Big Businesses Own Bigger Chunks of Korean Land

Published on 2015/09/27 | Source

The area of land owned by the nation's top 30 companies has risen to 34 times the size of Yeouido in Seoul over the last decade. Its total value rose by W115 trillion (US$1=W1,195).

Data submitted to New Politics Alliance for Democracy lawmaker Lee Chan-yeol by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport show that 1,056 subsidiaries of the top 30 private and public businesses owned 824 sq.km of land across the nation as of July.

That is equivalent to 0.82 percent of Korea's total land mass. Compared to 10 years ago, the total area of land owned by the top 30 companies increased by 290 sq.km.

The value of their land holdings surged 167 percent from W68.5 trillion in 2005 to W183.3 trillion this year.

Since land prices across the nation increased an average of 68 percent since 2006, the companies enjoyed disproportionate profits in valuation gains.

Gyeonggi Province saw the biggest rush of acquisitiveness, with the land owned by the big firms ballooning by 90 sq.km, presumably because they prefer holdings close to the capital.