'People in Their 30s Can't Even Dream of It' Halved... Landowners Aging, Two Out of Three Are in Their 60s or Older

Two-thirds of Privately Owned Land Held by People in Their 60s or Older
Land Ownership by Older Generations Continues to Increase

It has been found that about two-thirds of privately owned land is held by people in their 60s or older. About 20 years ago, this figure was at 45%, but as the overall population has aged, the age of landowners has also increased.

According to the 2024 land ownership status data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on July 11, people in their 60s own 13,987 square kilometers of land, accounting for 30.2% of all privately owned land. Those in their 70s own 9,610 square kilometers, or 20.8%, while those aged 80 and older own 6,753 square kilometers, or 14.6%. The proportion held by people aged 60 and older reached 65.6%.

The proportion of older landowners has increased year by year. Five years ago, in 2019, the percentage of those aged 60 and older was 58.8%. When land ownership status was first tracked in 2006, the figure for people aged 60 and older was about 45.1%. At that time, the age group with the largest share was those in their 50s (26.6%). In contrast, the proportion of those in their 30s or younger was 9.1% in 2006, but dropped to 4.1% last year, less than half the previous figure.

Apartment complexes around Jamsil, Songpa-gu. Photo by Yonhap News

The concentration of land ownership among the top groups remains unchanged. An analysis dividing land-owning households into deciles showed that the top 10% of individuals own 36,251 square kilometers, accounting for 78.4% of all privately owned land. Among corporations, the top 10% hold 92.3%, and among non-corporate entities (such as family associations and religious organizations), the figure is 68.9%. In 2006, the top 10% of households owned 76.3% of all privately owned land.

The number of people who own land in South Korea stands at 19.65 million, or 38.4% of the total population. In 2006, this figure was about 13.67 million, representing an increase of more than 40%. By household, 15.3 million out of a total of 24.12 million households, or 63.4%, own land. Of these, 54.5% are men and 45.5% are women.

Individuals own 46,258 square kilometers of land, corporations own 7,404 square kilometers, and non-corporate entities own 7,823 square kilometers. By land category, individuals hold mostly forest land (57.6%), followed by farmland (34.4%) and building sites (5.8%). For corporations, forest land accounts for 46.8%, followed by farmland (13.6%) and factory sites (12.2%). Among non-corporate entities, the proportion of forest land is high at 92.4%.

When classified by place of residence, the proportion of landowners living in a different city or province is 43.6% nationwide. The region with the highest proportion of non-local landowners is Sejong at 59%, while the lowest is Seoul at 20.6%. Land ownership statistics are compiled annually based on cadastral records (land and forest ledgers) registered by local governments across the country.

Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport