Value of tycoons' homes rising

By Yoon Ja-young

Despite the sluggish real estate market, the country’s tycoons are seeing the value of their homes rising.

According to Chaebul.com, a conglomerate information provider, the value of homes owned by the country’s top 30 conglomerate chairmen totaled 191 billion won this year. That is 8.4 percent higher than the last year.

The government-appraised prices of all houses nationwide, meanwhile, rose 4.3 percent during the same period.

According to the government’s official assessment of houses around the country, which is the basis for taxation, the residence of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee in Itaewon is the most expensive house in the country. It was valued at 17.7 billion won this year, up 13 percent from the previous year.

The tycoon owns the second, the third, and the fourth most expensive houses in the country. They are another house in Itaewon-dong at 13.6 billion won, a 12.3 billion won home in Samseong, southern Seoul, and an 11.2 billion won house in Jangchung, downtown Seoul.

Amore Pacific Group Chairman Suh Kyung-bae owns the fifth most expensive home, located in Hannam and valued at 10.3 billion won.

Daesang Group Chairman Lim Chang-wook, who also lives in Hannam, comes seventh on the list. His residence is worth 9.5 billion won. The families of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee and Daesang Group Chairman Lim Chang-wook were once tied in marriage ― Lee’s eldest son Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Electronics vice chairman, married Lim’s eldest daughter Se-ryeong; but they divorced in 2009.

Hannam is known as the most preferred residential area of the country’s tycoons, with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo, LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, and Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-goo also having residences there.

Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin’s residence in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, is valued at 9.3 billion won and comes eighth on the list. Chung is a nephew of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee ― Chung’s mother, Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Lee Myung-hee, is a younger sister of Lee.

Meanwhile, the country’s housing market is showing signs of cooling down after a brief recovery.

According to KB Kookmin Bank, the prices of apartments outside Seoul contracted. Daegu saw a 0.87 percent fall in the first quarter, and Daejeon, North Gyeongsang, South Chungcheong, North Jeolla and South Gyeongsang provinces also saw falls.

Real estate transactions are also decreasing. According to the land ministry, housing transactions totaled 199,483 in the first quarter, 26.1 percent less than a year ago.

“On top of the economic uncertainties continuing both within the country and overseas, the government is expanding strengthened regulation on mortgages in the provinces. Concern over oversupply of new homes is also worsening sentiment,” the bank noted in a real estate market report. The new regulation aims at inducing debtors to pay back part of the principal along with interest every month from the start of their loans, while previously banks deferred payback of the principal.