Seoul Auction announced on the 18th that its cumulative auction sales as of the end of the third quarter reached 62.4 billion KRW, a 51% increase compared to the same period last year. Seoul Auction plans to accelerate performance growth by expanding the scale of art auctions and diversifying auction categories.
Starting this year, Seoul Auction has successfully maximized offline auction sales by conducting auctions for officetel pre-sale rights. In June, it held the first domestic art auction to feature real estate pre-sale rights, offering "The Palace 73," which was sold for 21.9 billion KRW. Seoul Auction plans to diversify its auction portfolio with various categories beyond real estate pre-sale rights in the future.
Notably, both online and offline auctions conducted by Seoul Auction this year saw a sharp increase in average price per artwork. The average price per artwork is calculated by dividing the total auction sales by the number of sold items, representing the average winning bid per piece. The unit price for online auction artworks grew by 64% compared to last year, while offline auctions saw a 33% increase. The smooth supply and sale of high-priced artworks indicate market activation as more art investors and high-net-worth individuals participate in auctions.
From the fourth quarter, Seoul Auction plans to strengthen its dominance in the art auction market by expanding the scale of major offline auctions. On the 19th, it will hold the November offline auction with a total value of 8.3 billion KRW, featuring works by Kim Whanki, a master representing Korean art, with estimated starting prices from at least 2.4 billion KRW.
A Seoul Auction official stated, "Based on the networks and know-how accumulated through conducting art auctions, we are pursuing a strategy to diversify auction categories. Starting with real estate pre-sale rights this year, we plan to conduct auctions for various assets, aiming to maximize market competitiveness by expanding our auction asset portfolio."
He added, "The significant increase in average price per artwork this year can be interpreted as proactive investments by some investors just before the auction market fully activates, so we expect the art auction market to expand in the future. In response, we plan to expand the scale of major offline auctions and will accelerate performance growth by intensifying efforts to target overseas markets starting next year."
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