Foreign ownership of homes in Korea rose slightly in the first half of 2025, driven by continued demand in the greater Seoul area, government data showed Friday.

Foreign nationals owned 104,065 homes as of the end of June, up 0.15 percent from December last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. A total of 102,477 foreigners held residential property, accounting for 0.53 percent of all homes in the country.

The greater Seoul area -- encompassing Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi -- held the largest share, with 75,484 units, or 72.5 percent, of all foreign-owned homes. Other regions accounted for 28,581 units.

By province or city, Gyeonggi led with 40,794 homes, followed by Seoul at 24,186, Incheon at 10,504, South Chungcheong at 6,455 and Busan at 3,160.

Their shares were 39.2 percent, 23.2 percent, 10.1 percent, 6.2 percent and 3.0 percent respectively.

Chinese nationals remained the largest group of foreign homeowners, holding 58,896 homes, or 56.6 percent of the total. Americans owned 22,455, or 21.6 percent, Canadians 6,433, Taiwanese 3,392 and Australians 1,959.

Apartments and other multiunit homes made up the bulk of foreign-owned properties at 95,150 units, while detached houses accounted for 8,915.

Most foreign owners held a single home, with 93.4 percent owning one property. Homeowners with two homes accounted for 5.3 percent, and those with three or more for 1.3 percent.

Foreign nationals also owned 268.3 million square meters (66,298 acres) of land nationwide, up 0.1 percent from December last year and equal to 0.27 percent of Korea's territory. The assessed value of foreign-owned land reached nearly 34 trillion won ($23.2 billion), a 1.5 percent increase.

Americans made up 53.3 percent of foreign landowners, followed by Chinese nationals at 8 percent, Europeans at 7.1 percent and Japanese nationals at 6.1 percent.

By region, Gyeonggi accounted for 18.5 percent of foreign-owned land, with South Jeolla at 14.7 percent and North Gyeongsang at 13.5 percent.

Non-commercial and non-residential land types, including forests and farmland, made up 67.7 percent of foreign-held plots. Factory sites accounted for 22 percent, leisure-related land 4.4 percent and residential land 4.3 percent.

Foreign nationals of Korean descent represented the largest share of foreign landholders at 55.4 percent, followed by foreign corporations at 33.6 percent, foreign nationals not of Korean descent at 10.7 percent and foreign governments or organizations at 0.2 percent.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]