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A view down a street in Seoul’s Myeongdong neighborhood. (Hankyoreh archive photo)

Listed as the most expensive of South Korea’s 240,000 detached standard houses, a home belonging to the chairperson of one South Korean chaebol conglomerate saw its declared value for 2022 rise slightly from its 2021 level.

Meanwhile, a commercial lot in the center of Seoul’s Myeongdong neighborhood that boasts the highest lot price in the nation decreased in its declared value.

On Wednesday, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport shared 2022 declared values for standard houses and lots.

Among South Korea’s 240,000 standard houses, the results showed the most expensive to be a house in the Hannam neighborhood of Seoul’s Yongsan District belonging to Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Lee Myung-hee, which rose by 1.5% in declared value from 30.65 billion won in 2021 to 31.1 billion won in 2022 — an increase from US$25.8 million to US$26.2 million.

Completed in 2011, the house is a large-scale structure with a floor area of 2,861.8 square meters and a land area of 1,758.9 square meters.

This marks the seventh straight year that Lee’s Hannam home has been listed as the most expensive standard house, ever since it earned standard house designation in 2016.

In terms of all houses, however, the late Samsung Electronics Chairperson Lee Kun-hee’s detached house in the same neighborhood is expected to top the list. While Lee’s home is not included in the standard house category, it was appraised at 43.15 billion won in a March announcement of individual detached house values.

Among South Korea’s 540,000 standard lots, the 169.3 square meter lot occupied by a Nature Republic store in the Myeongdong neighborhood of central Seoul’s Jung District held on to its crown as the priciest piece of land nationally with a 2022 declared value of 189 million won per square meter.

But that value was down by 8.5% compared with its 2020 value of 206.5 million won per square meter.

While the Nature Republic lot has remained South Korea’s most expensive standard lot for 19 straight years since 2004, analysts said its land value appears to have diminished due to sluggish performance in the commercial district as the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced visits by foreign tourists.

In second place among standard lots was the Woori Bank site on Seoul’s Myeongdong 2(i)-ga road (392.4 square meters), which saw its declared value slip by 5.8% from 199 million won per square meter in 2021 to 187.5 million won in 2022. In third place was the former Uniqlo store site on Seoul’s Chungmuro 2(i)-ga road (300.1 square meters), which dropped all the way from 178.5 million won to 125 million won per square meter in declared value.

By Choi Jong-hoon, staff reporter

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