A German local outlet reported that indiscriminate investment by Chinese capital has sent real estate prices and the cost of living in Jeju Island soaring, increasing the burden on local residents.
The German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) on the 6th (local time) spotlighted how Jeju Island has changed since the influx of large amounts of Chinese capital, in a story headlined "an island is on the verge of suffocation."
The outlet said, "In Jeju Island, residents are feeling burdened as too many Chinese are coming," and noted, "From restaurant menus to duty-free shop ads to conversations heard on the streets of Jeju City, everything is in Chinese."
SZ analyzed that Korea's investment immigration policy facilitated the influx of large-scale Chinese capital into Jeju. Jeju Island introduced a "real estate investment immigration program" under which a foreigner who invests at least 500 million won in real estate and maintains the investment for five years, among other conditions, can obtain permanent residency.
Since then, a flood of Chinese capital has flowed into Jeju. Of the 1.26 trillion won in investment that entered Jeju Island from 2010 to 2022, 98% came from Chinese investors. As real estate development led by Chinese capital followed one after another, Chinese-style golf resorts and business hotels were built across Jeju.
SZ said that while this speculative fever drove up local real estate prices and living costs, little of the revenue earned by Chinese corporations flowed into the local economy.
The outlet also noted that some of the properties backed by Chinese capital sit right next to Jeju's military control zones. SZ explained that the sea lanes around Jeju connect China, Russia, Japan and Korea, making Jeju a region of high strategic value for intelligence operations.