This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:23 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2026.
KB Real Estate Trust extended by one year the operating period and loan maturity of the REIT that invested in a logistics center in Jaseok-ri, Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. After running into trouble with the sale process pursued since the second half of 2024, it moved to buy time for an exit. Fortunately, the situation has improved somewhat recently. With the asset's occupancy rate having risen sharply and a supply cliff for logistics centers emerging in the market, sentiment is leaning toward a sale being concluded within the year.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 13th, KB Real Estate Trust recently held a board meeting and an extraordinary shareholders meeting and passed an agenda to extend the operating period and approve a borrowing plan for the REIT (KB Icheon Logistics No. 5), which has the Icheon Jaseok-ri logistics center as its underlying asset. As a result, the REIT's operating period and loan maturity, which were scheduled to expire on the 23rd of this month, will be extended by one year to Feb. 23 next year.
The asset is a complex logistics center located on 121-2, Jaseok-ri, Seolseong-myeon, Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, and three adjacent parcels. It consists of one basement floor to three above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 49,689.19 square meters (about 15,031 pyeong). KB Real Estate Trust purchased the logistics center for 113.1 billion won through the REIT in Feb. 2022.
The maturity extension was an unavoidable step due to delays in the sale process. Initially, the asset struggled to find a buyer as the occupancy rate stayed at 59.56% because of vacancies in the cold storage institutional sector. In particular, the company that had a master lease for the cold storage area fell into arrears on rent, leading to termination of the contract and, subsequently, legal disputes over the unpaid rent.
Since the end of last year, the asset's condition has recovered, reversing the mood. In addition to existing tenant CJ Logistics, new tenants were brought into the vacant sections, raising the occupancy rate to about 90%. In negotiations with the lender group, it secured not only an extension of the loan maturity but also a cut in the lending rate, easing the financial expense burden. The rate on Tranche A loans participated in by Tongyang Life Insurance and Woori Bank fell by 0.3 percentage points to 4.9% from 5.2%, and the rate on Tranche B loans provided by Yuanta, Daishin and SBI Savings Bank declined to 5.7% from 6.0%, also by 0.3 percentage points.
Industry officials say a "supply cliff" in new logistics centers is becoming visible this year, and with the asset's vacancy risk effectively resolved, a sale is likely to be concluded within the year. An industry official said, "Recently, there are signs that e-commerce platforms and 3PL corporations are expanding logistics centers through increased collaboration," adding, "In particular, the recent decline in supply and tighter regulations on large assets are coinciding, making the moves of strategic investors seeking to secure mid- to long-term logistics networks more pronounced."