Park Geun-hye Naegok-dong Residence to be Auctioned in August... Appraised Value 3.16 Billion KRW

Exterior view of former President Park Geun-hye's residence currently under public auction (Photo by Jiji Auction)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] The residence of former President Park Geun-hye in Naegok-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, will be put up for public auction bidding in August.

According to Gigi Auction, a court auction specialist company, on the 22nd, the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) will conduct the first public auction bidding for former President Park's residence for three days starting August 9. The initial auction price is 3,165,540,000 KRW. The institution delegating the auction is the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The prosecution executed seizure in March after former President Park did not voluntarily pay fines and confiscated funds.

The house, purchased by former President Park in April 2017 for 2.8 billion KRW, is a detached house built on a 406㎡ lot with one basement floor and two above-ground floors, totaling 571㎡ in floor area. It is located within a detached housing complex adjacent to the foothills of Guryongsan Mountain.

However, whether a new owner will be found in this auction is uncertain. Lee Joo-hyun, a senior researcher at Gigi Auction, stated, "Since the public auction procedure does not have the delivery order application system used in regular auctions, a more complicated eviction lawsuit must be filed to take possession of the house," and added, "Considering that former President Park is currently incarcerated, it is expected that it will take a considerable amount of time to deliver the house." If the initial auction fails, the minimum bid price will be lowered by 10%, and bidding will be conducted again one week later.