Facts about Yeouido property in Seoul

Timothy Elder
November 30, 2010

What is it?

46,465 m² (500,145 sq ft) of land located on Seoul's Yeouido, an island in the Han River. It is near the National Assembly building and Seoul's main financial district. It is owned by the Tongil Foundation.

The contract.

In 2005, the Foundation signed a contract with a company, Y22 Project Financing Investment Co. According to this contract, Y22 would enjoy use of the "suerficies rights" -- a type of property right that allows a party to build on a piece of land without owning it -- of the land for 99 years.

The project.

Skylan Development Ltd., under a contract with Y22, began a project on the property involving a gross floor area of 627,680 m² (more than 6.7 million sq. ft) at a projected cost of $2.3 billion. Included in the project are two office towers, a hotel and a shopping mall. Currently, about 25% of the construction has been completed.

Recent developments.

A subsidiary of the Macquarie Group in Australia has signed an agreement to purchase one of the office towers. The Mirae Asset Securities Co. of Korea has signed an agreement to purchase the second tower.

On Oct. 29, 2010, Tongil Foundation filed suit in a Korean court asking that the contract with Y22 be nullified.