Foreign Ministry confirms it helped China purchase land in sensitive area in central Seoul

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Foreign Ministry confirms it helped China purchase land in sensitive area in central Seoul

Published: 15 May. 2025, 17:54 Updated: 15 May. 2025, 17:55

SEO JI-EUN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul [KIM HYUN-DONG]

Korea’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday that it provided administrative support when the Chinese government purchased land in Seoul’s Itaewon district in December 2018.

The statement came after a local newspaper revealed Tuesday that China acquired 11 plots of land totaling 4,162 square meters (44,799 square feet) in Itaewon-dong and surrounding areas for approximately 29.92 billion won ($21.4 million). The purchaser is listed in the official land registry as the "People’s Republic of China," the report added.

"There is no legal requirement for foreign diplomatic missions to seek prior approval or file notifications with the Korean government when purchasing land," a ministry official told reporters on Thursday.

The Foreign Ministry confirmed that in March 2019, it facilitated administrative procedures related to the acquisition tax exemption in line with the Vienna Convention.

“Diplomatic missions are entitled to tax exemptions on real estate purchases as part of their diplomatic privileges, and the ministry supported the exemption process accordingly,” the official said.

Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, diplomatic missions and heads of mission are exempt from most property-related taxes, including acquisition taxes and property taxes, as long as the property is used for official mission purposes.

The land purchased by China is located on the southern slope of Namsan Mountain between Noksapyeong-daero and the Namsan No. 2 and 3 tunnels. The site previously housed an outdoor golf driving range that operated for nearly five decades before shutting down shortly after the transaction.

The property lies roughly 1 to 1.5 kilometers from key government and diplomatic facilities, including the Yongsan presidential office, the Hannam-dong presidential residence and the Camp Coiner site — formerly part of the U.S. Army's Yongsan Garrison and slated to house the new U.S. Embassy complex. Such proximity raised concerns among some observers about a foreign government acquiring land near sensitive security-related zones.

The Chinese Embassy in Seoul has described the site as intended for official use, according to the original report. But it declined to disclose specific plans, citing internal policy. The Korea JoongAng Daily reached out to the Chinese Embassy but could not get a response as of press time.

Since the purchase, the embassy has not utilized the land, leaving existing structures vacant. The embassy attributed the delay in development to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government-assessed value of the land stood at approximately 32 billion won as of Jan. 1 this year. However, based on recent appraisals of nearby properties, the market value is estimated to have tripled over six years, now exceeding 100 billion won according to local media reports.

If the embassy moves to construct new facilities on the land, it must consult with the Korean government regarding the intended use and purpose of any new structures.

While Korea allows foreigners and foreign governments to acquire land relatively freely, Koreans face far more restrictions when seeking to purchase property abroad.

In China, for example, Chinese law only permits foreign nationals who have resided in the country for at least one year to purchase residential property — and even then, they are granted long-term lease rights rather than full ownership, in line with the state-controlled socialist system.

Chinese nationals owned a combined 20.66 square kilometers of land in South Korea as of 2022 — roughly seven times the size of Seoul’s Yeouido district.

The figure continues to grow. In 2024, Chinese nationals accounted for 64.9 percent of all foreign buyers in Korea’s real estate market, out of 17,478 foreign transactions recorded that year.

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]