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Yoon Administration’s ‘Fire Sale’ of High-Value State-Owned Property: Half Sold to Real Estate Developers

[비즈한국] A BizHankook investigation has confirmed that since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, 14 high-value state-owned properties with appraised values of 5 billion KRW or more have been sold. Of these, 10 were sold for less than their appraised value, resulting in an effective loss of 47.9 billion KRW compared to the appraisals. Half of those who acquired these high-value state properties at a discount have been identified as ‘real estate developers,’ and some of the properties sold are already being utilized for real estate development projects. Concerns are being raised that losses to the national treasury from the sale of state-owned property are being transferred into private development profits.

A comprehensive analysis by BizHankook of state-owned property sales data obtained from the office of Representative Jeon Jong-deok and the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) revealed that while there were zero cases of state-owned property sales valued at over 5 billion KRW between 2020 and 2022, the figure surged to 14 cases between 2023 and 2025 (as of the end of October) following the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. By year, there were 3 cases in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 5 in 2025. By region, the breakdown is 8 in Seoul, 4 in Busan, 1 in Incheon, and 1 in Ulsan. Effectively, the sale of high-value state-owned properties exceeding 5 billion KRW in Seoul began in earnest in 2024.

Out of the 14 high-value state-owned properties, 10 were sold for less than their appraised value. The average ratio of the winning bid to the appraised value (bid rate) was 72%. While the 14 properties had a total appraised value of 170.2 billion KRW, only 122.3 billion KRW flowed into the national treasury, meaning approximately 47.9 billion KRW evaporated during the auction process. The bid rates were: 4 cases between 50%–60%, 3 cases between 60%–70%, 1 case between 70%–80%, 1 case between 80%–90%, 1 case between 90%–100%, 3 cases between 100%–110%, and 1 case between 110%–120%.

Half of those who successfully bid for these high-value state properties at a low price are real estate developers. This applies to 5 out of the 10 cases where the bid rate was below 100%. Company A from Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, which also conducts real estate investment seminars, purchased a detached house in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul (1,079㎡) in November 2023 for 12.3 billion KRW (64% of the appraisal). Company B in Haeundae-gu, Busan, purchased a parking lot in Samsan-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan (3,816㎡) for 5.9 billion KRW (50%) in April 2024, and three companies—C, D, and E from Seocho-gu and Gangnam-gu, Seoul—jointly purchased a detached house in Sindang-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul (922㎡) for 5.9 billion KRW (92%) last January.

The high-value state-owned properties purchased cheaply by real estate developers are being used for actual development. Company F from Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, purchased a neighborhood living facility in Myeonmok-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul (710㎡) for 3 billion KRW (52% of the appraisal) and land in Oryu-dong, Guro-gu (1,438㎡) for 9.2 billion KRW (51%) this past June. Subsequently, in October, they received approval for a housing construction project plan to build an urban-type lifestyle housing complex with 7 floors (97 units) on the Oryu-dong land. In the case of Company A mentioned earlier, they submitted a building permit application to construct a neighborhood living facility on the site of the Banpo-dong detached house. The site in Sindang-dong, Seoul, jointly purchased by companies C, D, and E, received a building permit for a 6-story (28-unit) multi-household housing complex in April.

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration announced its ‘Plan to Sell and Revitalize State-Owned Property’ at an Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting in August 2022, detailing plans to sell off over 16 trillion KRW worth of assets over five years. In reality, while total state-owned property sales by KAMCO amounted to approximately 65.6 billion KRW between 2020 and 2022, that figure jumped 7.3 times to 478.7 billion KRW from 2023 through this year (as of the end of October) following the launch of the current administration. The winning bid rate for these properties was 110% in 2020, 102% in 2021, and 104% in 2022—all exceeding the appraised value—but dropped to 91% in 2023, 78% in 2024, and 74% in 2025.

President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered a full suspension of government asset sales on the 3rd. The order requires a comprehensive review of assets currently in the process of being sold or under consideration to determine whether to proceed. The President instructed that, in principle, sales should be refrained from except for unnecessary assets, and in cases where disposal is unavoidable, prior approval must be obtained from the Prime Minister. Analysts suggest this action comes after successive criticism during the National Assembly audit regarding the ‘fire sale’ of state-owned property under the Yoon administration.

Representative Jeon Jong-deok remarked, “The indiscriminate sale of state-owned property by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is a very serious issue. Selling off public assets at fire-sale prices to compensate for tax revenue losses caused by tax cuts for the wealthy can never be justified in terms of transparency and public nature in fiscal management. State-owned property is a future asset of the nation and a public good for all citizens. A full investigation into the entire sales process and institutional reforms, including procedural improvements, are urgent. The state must manage public assets responsibly and transparently.”