Land Ownership
An increasing number of Koreans are concerned over the purchase of land on Jeju Island by Chinese capital. Last year, the area of the land in Jeju owned by Chinese increased 164 percent from a year earlier.
The reason for the investment is the region’s attraction as a tourist destination close to China that is popular with Chinese tourists. The Genting Group, a Malaysian integrated resort developer, set up a joint corporation with the Landing Group and started the construction of an integrated resort in Jeju in February last year. “These days, the Chinese government is encouraging overseas investment for some balance in foreign exchange reserves, and Chinese investors are rushing to Jeju as an investment target,” the Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC) explained.
The Korean government’s stance is that it is well prepared for the increasing investment, and the investment will bring more benefits than side effects in the end. “Chinese capital is leading today’s overseas investment not only in Korea but also in developed countries such as the United States, Canada, and Japan, and we are capable of distinguishing helpful overseas capital from speculators,” the JDC said, adding, “Landing Jeju Development purchased 2,319,000 square meters of land in Jeju last year, but it does not constitute a case of speculation as we see it.” As of March this year, a total of 0.9 percent of the land in Jeju is owned by non-Koreans.