The Number of Landowners in Korea Tops 20 Million for the First Time... Half Are in Their 60s and 70s

[Financial News] The number of landowners in Korea has surpassed 20 million for the first time, while people in their 60s hold 30% of privately owned land, according to a survey. By contrast, both the area and share of land owned by people in their 20s to 50s have declined, highlighting a widening wealth gap between generations.
Maeil Business Newspaper reported on the findings on the 29th after analyzing the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 'Land Ownership Status Statistics as of the End of 2025.'
As of the end of last year, 20.12 million of the country's 51.12 million registered residents owned land, accounting for 39.4% of the total population. That was up 470,000, or 2.4%, from the previous year’s 19.65 million, marking the first time the figure has exceeded 20 million.
The number of individual landowners has continued to rise steadily, from 18.77 million in 2022 to 19.03 million in 2023 and 19.65 million in 2024. However, the total land area owned by individuals fell by 131 square kilometers, or 0.3%, from the previous year to 46,127 square kilometers.
By age group, people in their 60s held the largest amount of land at 13,860 square kilometers, or 30.0%. They were followed by those in their 70s at 10,141 square kilometers, or 22.0%; their 50s at 9,443 square kilometers, or 20.5%; their 40s at 3,927 square kilometers, or 8.5%; their 30s at 1,344 square kilometers, or 2.9%; and their 20s at 367 square kilometers, or 0.8%.
In particular, the share of land held by people in their 70s and older increased, while the share for those in their 50s and younger all declined from a year earlier. By gender, men accounted for 54.3% of all landowners, while women made up 45.7%.
The region with the highest share of land owned by nonresidents was Sejong Special Self-Governing City, at 59.5%. It was followed by Gangwon State at 50.8%, Gyeongbuk at 49.9%, North Chungcheong Province at 48.5%, and Jeollanam-do at 45.9%. The national average was 43.7%.
The land area owned by corporations stood at 7,463 square kilometers, up 59 square kilometers, or 0.8%, from the previous year. By land-use zone, agricultural and forest areas accounted for the largest share at 32.7%, while by land category, forest land made up the biggest portion at 46.4%.
Meanwhile, the land area owned by non-corporate entities, including clan organizations and religious groups, came to 7,823 square kilometers, roughly unchanged from a year earlier. Of that total, agricultural and forest areas accounted for 56.8%, and forest land for 92.4%, indicating that most holdings were concentrated in forest and agricultural areas.
[email protected] Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter