This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 9:46 a.m. on Apr. 07, 2026.
Korea's golf course merger and acquisition (M&A) market has hit a transaction cliff, overflowing with potential listings and would-be buyers. Many courses are effectively on the market like "permanent listings," and many firms are searching for assets, but transactions are not closing because of a gap in price expectations.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 7th, a domestic private equity fund (PEF) manager recently reviewed acquiring the Woojeong Hills Country Club (CC) in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, but halted the process. Woojeong Hills CC had not seen a transaction because Kolon Group Chairman Lee Woong-yeol hoped for a price approaching 250 billion won, but recently lowered expectations to around 200 billion won. The PEF in question was said to have judged even this price to be expensive, citing the course's distance from the Seoul metropolitan area despite its prestige.
Woojeong Hills CC has 18 holes and is operated by Green Narae, a subsidiary of Kolon Glotech. The ownership structure is "Chairman Lee Woong-yeol → Kolon → Kolon Industries → Kolon Glotech → Green Narae."
The ultra-luxury Cascadia Golf Club (GC), where green fees exceed 500,000 won, is also on the market. Since last year, Factum PE has been pursuing an acquisition, but the transaction has not yet closed. The The Sienna Group is also said to have reviewed an acquisition. The The Sienna Group is a golf specialist corporations that last year successively acquired Aekyung Group's Jungbu CC and Seragio GC.
However, a golf industry official said, "The Sienna is looking at almost all the good courses that are on the market, and Cascadia CC is also a place that most potential buyers have reviewed at least once."
Separately, rumors persist that POSCO Group's Jack Nicklaus GC in Songdo, Incheon, is for sale. With membership liabilities of about 230 billion won, the cash that could be realized even after a sale would only be in the tens of billions of won, but the company is said to be trying to wind down the golf course business, which is viewed as a "luxury industry," to align with the government's expectations. According to the industry, POSCO Group recently called in some advisors to ask about the feasibility of selling Jack Nicklaus GC.
Rexfield CC, owned by the Woongjin group, is also effectively considered a permanent listing. The group denies it, but potential buyers are already said to have made contact.
Currently, high-end golf courses in Korea are basically expecting a price of at least 11 billion won per hole. That was the per-hole sale price for Jungbu CC last year. An industry official said, "The Jungbu CC sale price has effectively become the 'floor' for premium courses' valuations."
In contrast, potential buyers view even 10 billion won per hole as expensive. They say Korea's golf market has peaked and is heading down.
The downturn in the golf industry is borne out by data. According to the Korea Leisure Industry Research Institute and golf industry data, the number of visitors to golf courses nationwide fell by about 1 million from a year earlier last year, marking a decline for the second straight year. The operating margin of public golf courses in the Seoul metropolitan area, which reached 40% to 50% during the COVID-19 pandemic, fell to the low-30% range in 2024 and then dropped into the 20% range last year.