This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 1:07 p.m. on Apr. 24, 2026.
The mega mixed-use development around Seoul Station, "Iota Seoul 2 (Metro Tower·Seoullo Tower)," has resolved last-minute variables and entered a normalization track. The mid-tier anchor lender Korea Investment Real Asset Management agreed to the refinancing. IGIS Asset Management is slated to execute the bridge loan refinancing drawdown in the afternoon on the 24th.
According to the investment banking industry on the day, Korea Investment Real Asset Management held an investment review committee meeting on the 23rd and passed the agenda to participate in the Iota Seoul 2 refinancing. With this, the entire mid-tier lending group agreed, completing the lenders' consent, and the refinancing entered the execution phase. An industry official said, "IGIS Asset Management will raise a new loan this afternoon and complete the drawdown," adding, "once the existing senior loan is repaid, the public sale process will also be canceled."
Iota Seoul 2 is a project to redevelop Metro Tower·Seoullo Tower in Namdaemun-ro 5-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, and is a mega downtown mixed-use development linked to the nearby Millennium Hilton site (Iota Seoul 1). The total project cost reaches the 2 trillion won range. As the conversion to main project financing (PF) was delayed, an event of default (EOD) occurred in January this year on a roughly 710 billion won bridge loan, and the project faced a crisis of derailment as the public sale process proceeded afterward.
IGIS Asset Management sought new funding to normalize the project. It completed the refinancing structure by securing senior funds from Meritz Financial Group (360 billion won) and NH Investment & Securities (130 billion won), along with 70 billion won in junior funds from Sono Hospitality Group. However, negotiations suffered growing pains until the end as the largest mid-tier investor, Korea Investment Real Asset Management, maintained its opposition.
Korea Investment Real Asset Management initially considered a direct acquisition of the business sites instead of refinancing. In collaboration with IPARK Hyundai Development Company, it would exercise the right of first refusal and pursue the development through a debt-to-equity swap that converts the mid-tier loan into equity. It was interpreted as a strategy to acquire the asset through the public sale process and secure development profits.
However, this approach reportedly faced significant structural constraints in execution. If the mid-tier loan were converted into equity, the nature of the loan investment—premised on recovery by maturity—would change into a development investment with funds tied up for years. This process required unanimous consent from fund limited partners (LPs), but it was reportedly difficult to persuade them given the burden of shifting from a fixed-revenue structure to a development project with high uncertainty.
The profit and loss structure from the beneficiary side was also a factor. Although the refinancing plan presented by IGIS Asset Management included conditions such as full payment of accrued interest, choosing the acquisition scenario would have meant giving up about six months of interest receipts, which was also a burden. As a result, the decision reportedly pivoted to participating in the refinancing, considering recovery stability and the burden of decision-making.
With the mid-tier lending group also joining the refinancing, the Iota project appears set to proceed toward normalization. If the drawdown is completed in the afternoon, the bridge loan EOD will be resolved, and the public sale process is expected to be halted. The asset is currently in public sale at about 1.2 trillion won.
If Iota Seoul 2 is normalized, it is expected to complete a large-scale mixed-use development axis around Seoul Station in tandem with the nearby Hilton site development (Iota Seoul 1). Expectations are that it will be reorganized into a key hub combining large offices, a hotel, and retail facilities in a location connected to the GTX transfer hub.