This article appeared on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:18 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2025.
Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) is seeking to sell office buildings located in Yeoksam and Yongsan in Seoul and in Suwon. These are headquarters it acquired from corporations that fell into liquidity trouble during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is seen as putting them on the market now because commercial real estate transactions have picked up amid the recent easing-rate trend.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 13th, KAMCO is selling Coway Tower in Yeoksam, KY Building (formerly Kumyoung Building) in Yongsan, and Hanwha Life Building in Suwon. The asking price KAMCO hopes for the three properties is reported to be about 150 billion won. It used the valuations of two appraisal firms as a reference.
A preliminary marketing process is currently under way. Corporations that want to use small- to mid-sized offices as headquarters are reportedly considering participating in the bidding. KAMCO plans to hold the main bid on the 17th and select the prospective buyer within this month.
Coway Tower, located in the Gangnam business district (GBD) in Seoul, is a small office building with four basement levels and seven aboveground floors and a total floor area of 5,309.49 square meters. It is close to Seonjeongneung and Eonju stations on subway line 9 and Yeoksam and Seolleung stations on subway line 2, offering high transportation convenience. However, because it was completed in the 1980s, the need for additional remodeling is cited as a drawback. KAMCO bought Coway Tower in March 2017 for about 21 billion won.
KY Building on Hangang-daero in Yongsan is a mid-size office with four basement levels and 15 aboveground floors and a total floor area of 8,250.41 square meters. It is evaluated as having excellent public transport access because it is near Singyongsan Station on subway line 4. Currently, the Korea Robotics Industry Association, Inteco, and Music Perfume, among others, lease all floors. An industry source said KY Building's lease contracts for all floors except the 14th floor expire next year and that it is suitable for use by a single small- to mid-sized corporation.
KAMCO bought Hanwha Life Building in 2021 from Hanwha Life through a sale-and-leaseback transaction. At the time, Hanwha Life used the office as its Suwon headquarters. Hanwha Life Building has one basement level and 12 aboveground floors and a total floor area of 13,262.98 square meters. Except for the seventh floor, the lease terms for all floors expire in Jan. 2028, and assuming those contracts is a condition. Total security deposits for leases amount to 1.321 billion won, and monthly rent and maintenance fees are about 210 million won.
KAMCO's Corporate Asset Acquisition Division, which is leading the sale this time, operates an "asset purchase and leaseback program" that buys assets from corporations temporarily facing management difficulties and then re-leases them to help their business.
An industry official said, "We understand these are properties that KAMCO acquired and managed from corporations whose liquidity was blocked during the COVID-19 pandemic, which it is now putting on the market," and added, "Considering recent office transaction prices, Coway Tower in Yeoksam is expected to yield more than three times the current market price."