Foreign land ownership grows 1.7 pct in Q1

SEOUL, May 6 (Yonhap) -- Foreign ownership of land in South Korea rose 1.7
percent during the first quarter on increased demand for space to build houses
and factories, a government report showed Wednesday.

According to the report by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs,
foreigners owned a total of 213.86 million square meters of land at the end of
March, compared with 210.35 million square meters of land three months earlier.
During the first quarter, foreigners purchased 5.32 million square meters of
land, while selling 1.81 million square meters of land, the report showed.
Foreigners include foreign nationals, ethnic Koreans with foreign citizenship,
joint South Korean-foreign businesses and foreign-owned companies. Their land
ownership accounted for 0.2 percent of the nation's total mass.
Ethnic Koreans owned the largest amount, holding 47 percent of the total,
followed by joint ventures and foreign entities with 37.7 percent and 10 percent,
respectively, the report showed.
In terms of estimated value, foreigners held an estimated 29.73 trillion won
(US$23.5 billion) worth of land at the end of March, up 2.8 percent from December
last year, according to the report.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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